The Casablancas Legacy
by irma66
Summary: Dick discovers that the sins of the past can have unexpected repercussions. Post MKAT.
1. Chapter 1

_Well, I couldn't resist. I've been planning to wait until this story was complete before posting but I'm going to go ahead and start anyway. If I run out of chapters, I guess I'll just start posting like a normal person…as I complete each chapter. I hope you enjoy._

* * *

"So, you really don't have any idea about Dick's big secret?"

Veronica started at the sound of Logan's voice. She's been mesmerized by his hand tapping some unclear rhythm on the gear shift. She blushed a little as she looked up at his face but he was still focusing on the PCH as they sped towards Dick's beach house. His eyes shifted slightly to her and he smiled.

"What? What's the secret?"

She was relieved that he thought what she was hiding was Dick's secret, rather than what she was actually thinking, which were impure thoughts about his hands. "No, seriously, I don't have any idea. He's been totally close-mouthed on this and so has Mac."

"What about Mac? She knows the secret?" he asked.

"Yeah, weird huh? He showed up about six weeks ago and asked her to do some research for some issue that had come up. She agreed and will not tell me or Dad what is going on. I have to admit, I've snooped a little, trying to find out what she was researching but she's pretty hip to my sneaky ways and can cover up as well as I can."

"Ha, that must burn you."

"It's true. I'm supposed to be the master here and Mac the padawan. I should be able to figure her out."

"Ah, but a Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack."

"It was for knowledge that the Force I tried to use. I just couldn't break her."

"Umm, break her, Yoda? That sounds like attack to me."

"Geez, whose side are you on anyway?"

He snorted a laugh. "Always on your side, I am."

"Funny way of showing it. The fact that the first place we go after you get home is Dick's means you're not on my side."

"First place after two days in a hotel suite and another in the apartment."

 _Logan had returned after his four month mid-cruise deployment three days ago. He hadn't been on the fly-in list and he'd been assigned to duty that kept him aboard the boat until the rest of his squad was already released. Knowing that he would not be available immediately after docking, they made plans to meet in the beachfront cottage Veronica had booked at the Hotel del Coronado. She'd arrived about three hours before he was supposed to be released. She'd wandered throughout the cottage wondering where she should meet him when he arrived and whether she should be fully clothed, full-on naked, or some compromise between the two. She had decided to check out the outdoor soaking tub while she waited and the warm water had finally relaxed her enough to drift off to sleep. She'd been nervous about their reunion; although the awkwardness of his voluntary departure had eased over the intervening months, she'd still felt an increasing anxiety as the days ticked away to his return. That had all melted away when she woke to find him kneeling in the tub before her, his lips ghosting across her collarbones and neck, and his hands sliding smoothly along her torso._

 _"Hi there," she murmured in his ear. "Welcome home."_

 _"Thanks. I'm always in favor of naked welcoming parties."_

 _"Well, I guess that was one choice I shouldn't have second-guessed but I really didn't mean to fall asleep out here."_

 _He chuckled as he wormed one arm behind her and spun them so he was now seated and she was astride his lap. One hand remained spread across her low back with his fingers trailing down to caress her ass. The other stroked her face for a moment before sliding slowly down her neck, stopping to massage a breast, then to gently tweak a nipple. "I must say, I'm glad your best laid plans went awry. I think this is a great location." His mouth found hers then and the coherent portion of the reunion conversation was basically over._

 _After some...preliminary reuniting, they made their way out of the soaking tub, with Veronica still in Logan's arms and her legs wrapped around his hips. The climb out had been slightly awkward, if not outright hazardous, and they hadn't made it any further than the first solid wall inside the cottage before he had her pinned up against it and gasping._

 _For the next two days, the most she'd had on was the hotel robe, for very brief periods of time. Logan had slipped shorts on to answer the door whenever room service delivered their meals but otherwise, the welcoming party had stayed sans clothing. After two days, they checked out and made their way back to their apartment but the hour long drive had been too long and as soon as the door closed behind them, clothes started coming off again._

"Anyone listening to you would think that was some kind of a hardship that you had to endure," Veronica teased.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what everyone's gonna think. Poor Logan, stuck in bed with Veronica for three whole days." He glanced over at her and shook his head before taking her hand in his and lifting it to his lips to kiss. "We'll have dinner and we'll be back at the apartment in like, two hours." He kissed her hand again. "Can you wait that long?"

She made an offended sound and tried to tug her hand out of his but he tightened his grasp and smirked at her. "I can wait as long as necessary. Don't act like I'm so needy."

"Hey, no offense intended. I'll admit freely, I'm going into withdrawal right now. I wouldn't mind pulling over and getting busy but this car isn't exactly built for privacy."

She laughed. "Yeah, and truthfully, the Mars family is in good with the current sheriff's administration. I'd rather not jeopardize that with public indecency."

"Same."

"So, we'll give Dick a little time and then we'll be free to go?" She squeezed his hand and when he glanced over at her, she raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Yep. Plus, if you will recall, he has our dog."

"Oh, right," Veronica felt her face warming with embarrassment. "I guess it's a sign we're not ready for kids when I completely forget about the baby when daddy comes home."

His mouth fell open and she laughed. "I didn't know we were contemplating kids." She shrugged.

"WE haven't. Doesn't mean the thought has never crossed my mind." She tilted her head as she considered him. "Are you telling me you've never thought about it?"

This time it was his face that turned pink. "No, I'm not telling you that." His eyes shifted towards her, like he was trying to gauge her reaction. "Maybe, sometime when we're not four minutes away from Dick's, we can actually think about it at the same time."

"I think that can probably be arranged." She leaned more toward the center of the car. "I do have to work some over the next two weeks, but I've kept my schedule as clear as possible and I've still got two more days before I have any appointments."

"Cool. You do know, don't you, that if Dick hadn't been so insistent, he would still be waiting and we'd still be naked." He pulled her hand back to his mouth again.

"Well, if I've learned one thing in the last couple of years, it's that absence does make the heart grow fonder. A couple hours dressed, even if we will be with Dick, won't be a bad thing." She shifted in her seat so she could gaze openly at him and he responded by turning her hand and kissing her palm. He then moved her hand back to drop into her own lap so he could grasp the gear shift. He downshifted as they took the exit for Dick's beach house. With both his hands occupied, she stretched out to trace a finger across his thigh. "Maybe, if Dick's been hitting the medicinal brownies, he won't notice if we sneak into your little bedroom porch, for old time's sake."

"Hmmm, that's an interesting idea. We'll see how he is." They pulled up in front of the beach house and Logan hopped out, hurrying around the car to open the door for Veronica. She stepped out and into his arms, stretching up to kiss him. He pressed her against the car door for a moment, curling down into her before wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her up to him.

"See, I told you a little separation wouldn't hurt," she whispered as he kissed down her neck.

"Mmmhmmm," he murmured against her skin. She shivered at the vibration.

"Oh, my good God. Can't you two keep your hands off each other for a minute?"

They jerked upright at the sudden intrusion although Logan's grasp around Veronica's waist didn't break. "Mac. What are you doing here?" Veronica wriggled a little and Logan let her slide back to her feet.

"I got invited to the combo 'Logan's back in town dinner-slash-Dick's big reveal' event." Mac gave Veronica a gentle push so she could give Logan a hug. "Welcome back, Lieutenant."

"Thanks, Mackie." He grinned down at her. "So, what's the big reveal? I hear the student has now become the Master."

"That is not true," Veronica answered indignantly. "She's just coming along nicely." Logan and Mac looked at each other and smirked. "It's true." She slapped her flat palm against Logan's chest. "It's true!"

"No one's arguing with you, Sugarpuss."

"Yeah, _Sugarpuss,_ no one's arguing with you," Mac teased. "Now, come on. I know for sure that Dick's about to lose his mind in the house waiting for you guys."

"How are we going to be able to tell that from normal, every day Dick?" Veronica said sarcastically but both Mac and Logan ignored her.

"How is it that you're involved with some issue of Dick's?" Logan asked. He held his arms out behind both women, ushering them towards Dick's front door.

"He needed help and he didn't want to ask Veronica or Keith. That left me."

"Why couldn't he ask me?" Veronica asked in a petulant voice. Logan and Mac both stopped walking to look at her incredulously. "What?"

"Are you seriously asking why Dick didn't want to ask you for a favor?" Mac said. "He knows you only tolerate him for Logan's sake."

"And you're his biggest fan?" Veronica asked scornfully. Logan gave a bark of laughter and began to move them towards the door again.

"No, obviously not, but he and I, we have some commonalities that he doesn't share with you. And, there's less pressure on him with me." Veronica looked disgruntled but Logan nodded.

"You agree with her?"

"I understand what she's saying. Stop getting worked up about this and be glad Dick has someone else to do him favors. It keeps him out of your hair." Logan grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, giving her a gentle kiss on the top of her head. "So, let's go see what the surprise is."

Mac led the way up the stairs onto the porch. She rapped quickly on the door and then opened the door to step in. "Dick. They're here."

Veronica looked over her shoulder at Logan as they followed Mac. "She just walks in?" she said in a low voice. Logan rolled his eyes but didn't respond.

"LOGAN! My man!" Dick was suddenly before them, throwing his arms around Logan and lifting him off the ground. Veronica jumped out of the way and stood looking at her boyfriend being hugged fiercely by his best friend, her mouth twisted in a moue of disgust. Mac looked at her face and burst into laughter. Her sudden outburst caught Dick's attention and he put Logan back on his feet. "So glad you're here, man." He turned to look at Veronica who was still grimacing. "Ronnie. Always a pleasure." Both Mac and Logan laughed.

There was suddenly a loud scrambling noise and Pony burst into the hallway, feet slipping and sliding as she rounded the corner. She had gained about twenty pounds since Logan had been gone but she launched herself at him like she had when she was still small and he stumbled backwards trying to regain his balance. "Pony! Whoa. Settle, settle." The puppy tried frantically to obey but her excitement was too great and even as she sat, her tail continued to wag violently. Logan knelt in front of her, scratching her head. "How's my little girl? Hmm, hmm? Who's the best puppy?" As he continued to croon to the dog, the other three humans stood over them, shaking their heads.

"She loves him best. I didn't abandon her but she still loves him best." Veronica threw up her hands in exasperation.

"I thought YOU had him whipped, Mars," Dick answered. "That's just pitiful." He looked down at his friend who was still snuggling the puppy. "Come on, dude. I've got a surprise for you."

Logan gave Pony one more cuddle and stood up. The puppy leaned into his legs. "All right, Dick. Your turn. What's the big surprise?"

"Come on." Dick turned and walked back toward the great room. Logan reached for Veronica's hand and followed Dick, Pony still glued to his leg, and Mac bringing up the rear. As they stepped into the large room, Pony darted forward, jumping up onto the couch, next to a teenaged boy. Dick followed the puppy to the couch and the boy stood up next to him. He was nearly Dick's height but still slender, with shaggy, blonde hair.

"So guys," Dick said in an excited voice. "Congratulate me. It's a boy."


	2. Chapter 2

There was a moment of stunned silence before Veronica said in a shocked voice, "Who in the world would approve Dick to adopt?"

Logan's head swiveled to her and she could see his irritation. "Veronica!" She felt the reprimand in his voice like a blow and she understood. _Don't say things like that in front of the kid. Bad form._

She looked at Dick, feeling a little ashamed. "Sorry. You caught me totally off-guard."

Dick shocked her again with his response. "It's cool. I don't think anyone in their right mind would let me adopt a random kid either. Nope. This one came to me." He put an arm around the boy's shoulders and beamed at him for a moment before looking at his guests again. "This is Cole Casablancas. He's the product of my misspent youth."

"Dick! Don't say it like that," Mac scolded as she moved to stand on the other side of the boy. She put a hand on his upper arm and rubbed it comfortingly. "He's just excited," she said directly to the boy who smiled down at her.

"It's fine," he said, then turned to look at Logan and Veronica. "I'm pretty much used to it." He stretched his hand out to Logan. "It's nice to finally meet you both. It's actually Cole Tierney. Dick's been—"

"Excuse me, we talked about this," Dick interrupted.

"Sorry, _Dad's_ been really anxious to start whatever legal action we would need to take to change my name."

"Well, of course," Dick boomed out. "We've got confirmation you're my kid. Casablancas prodigy needs to be named Casablancas. Of course you're taking my name."

"Dick," Mac said in a chiding tone, her hand still on the boy's arm, "that is up to Cole. If he wants to keep his mother's name then he can." She rolled her eyes at Veronica. "And it's progeny."

Veronica looked away from Mac's amused smirk to see how Logan was taking the news. This was way beyond anything she'd ever imagined. From the look of Logan's wide, shocked eyes, it was apparent that he was feeling the same.

"Umm, hey guys," he began hesitantly, "maybe we can sit down and you can fill us in on the details? Your little surprise is kinda kicking my aaa—uhh...butt."

Cole laughed. "I'm not five; I'll be fourteen in a month. You can say ass in front of me."

"I don't actually know if I can," Logan said good-naturedly, then grabbed Veronica's hand and pulled her toward the other couch. "I'm feeling old with an unpleasant need to be mature right this minute."

Dick laughed and sat on one end of the couch where Cole had been sitting when they first walked in the room. Cole sat back down on the other end and Mac hovered on the arm of the couch next to the boy. Pony had been circling the room and started to jump up next to Cole, but then she looked back at Logan and whined her indecision. She looked back and forth a couple more times before sinking onto the floor between the couches, whimpering. Everyone laughed before Dick responded to Logan.

"I know what you mean about feeling like I need to be mature, dude. Everything I do—just like your little Miss Muttley there—I second-guess now. It's probably too bad I didn't meet Cole earlier. I might have actually made something out of my life if I'd known. Wait til my dad hears that. If only he'd realized that before he sent Maggie packing."

"Wait, your mom's Maggie Tierney?" Veronica said, shocked by a name she hadn't heard, or even thought of, in years. "We went to school together all through elementary and junior high. I vaguely remember her in Freshman English but then..." Veronica looked up, embarrassed. "She was just gone. We weren't really close so I never knew what happened. I just thought her family moved."

"They did," Cole said. "Just to Riverside, but far enough away that no one would wonder about me."

"Oh," Veronica said quietly. Logan was resting his arm on the back of the couch behind her and she snuggled into his side, ducking her face into his shoulder. His arm dropped onto her shoulders and he stroked her arm reassuringly. After a moment, she looked up again. "So how is your mom? It's obviously been years."

"She died. About six months ago. Car crash."

"Oh my God," Veronica said. "I'm so sorry. She was always a very nice girl." She had a few memories of Maggie, from early in their school years, before the Kanes moved to town and she got caught up in being Lilly's best friend. She did suddenly remember sixth grade, when Maggie was one of the first girls to...develop. Veronica's face warmed as she remembered how jealous she'd been of all the attention that had gotten from the boys in their class. The Mammomax incident had been a result of her late bloomer jealousy. In retrospect, she'd take her reduced size over getting pregnant and hustled out of town at fourteen or fifteen.

"So, Dick, you mentioned your dad," Logan said and Veronica looked up at him. "What act of stellar parenting are you talking about this time?"

Dick laughed bitterly. "Well, from what Cole has told us, and what Mackie has found out, the Tierneys came to Big Dick and Sadie to discuss their mutual impending grandparenthood. My mom was already in Europe with the new husband so she missed out on the whole discussion. Apparently my fabulous dad decided that being a father was not for me and he paid the Tierneys to get out of town and never darken his door again." Dick's face hardened and his lips thinned. "Sadie told Mac there were also some threats of ruining Maggie's reputation thrown in as added incentive."

"Oh my God," Logan said in a shaky voice. His arm tightened around Veronica and she patted his leg gently. "They never told you?"

"No," Dick said flatly. He looked at the boy next to him hesitantly. "We weren't exactly dating when...you know. It never even occurred to me that anything had happened or that Maggie's leaving had anything to do with me."

There was an uncomfortable silence that Cole broke. "Look, I know you're all trying to not say anything insensitive but I know all of this. I was a one night stand baby with fourteen year old parents. Truthfully, I had no idea about any of that until a few months before she died. I'll be straight with all of you; she finally told me the whole truth when she caught me in...a slightly compromising situation of my own. That's when she finally told me everything, so I would understand how important it was that I not repeat her mistakes. You really don't need to sugarcoat anything."

Veronica frowned. "So you didn't know all along that Maggie was your mom? If they left town to save her reputation, I could see them saying your grandparents were your parents."

"Yeah, that's what they did. She was just my very attentive big sister for most of my life. She went to college but she went to UC Riverside so she always lived at home. After she graduated, she got a job in San Francisco, and that was when she finally moved out."

Veronica felt a little sick. _Is it better to get abandoned before you know it's your mom doing the abandoning?_ She looked around the room. Every single one of them had been abandoned, in one way or another, by their moms. Mac and Cole got substitutes but still...what a horrible link between them all. She looked at Mac who was still sitting next to the boy with the saddest look. _She sees it too. The connection._

"A few months after Maggie moved," Cole continued, "she came home for a visit. I was in second grade so they didn't let me hear them fighting but when she finally told me the whole story I found out what had happened back then. She wanted to tell me the truth and bring me up north to live with her. My parents, grandparents, whatever, wouldn't agree. I knew something was happening that made Maggie sad but I didn't know anything else back then. She left and didn't come home again til Christmas."

"How could they stop her?" Logan asked. "She was your mom."

"Biologically yes, but legally, probably not," Veronica interjected. "I'd bet they formally adopted Cole when he was born and the law would be on their side. Even if Maggie tried to petition to overturn the adoption, it's not very likely that she would have prevailed. At that age, what, probably around eight—" she looked at Cole who nodded "—the court would have been solely looking at the best interest of the child. Disrupting his life at that point, taking him from a married couple who'd acted as his parents for his entire life, to give him to his twenty-three year old biological mom would probably not have been viewed that way."

"See, law school was good for something," Mac said with a half-smile. "That's exactly what I was told when I was doing Dick's research. Maggie didn't file anything; if she saw an attorney, they probably told her just to take what she could get. They probably told her too that filing suit was likely to end up antagonizing her parents and she'd get even less time with Cole than she had already, representing herself as his sister."

"Wow," Logan said, shaking his head. "That sucks."

"Maybe," Veronica replied, "but a change like that could be really disruptive in a lot of cases." She raised a placating hand toward Cole. "I don't mean that I think it would have been a bad idea in your case; it's just that the courts have to establish particular standards. It's just not possible to always know which situations are the exceptions. Unfortunately, all of us—" she gestured around the room to herself, Logan, Dick, and Mac "—have seen situations where someone can put on the best face to get what they want but in reality, they're really the worst."

All of their faces reflected understanding of what she said and Cole shrugged. "I do get that. And she kept coming around and they let me start spending a few weeks with her during the summers over the next couple of years. We always had a great time. We'd talk about what we'd do if I was there all the time but then I'd go back to Riverside."

"So when Maggie died, did they tell you the truth?" Veronica asked. She saw Dick and Mac exchange a look and her curiosity was piqued.

"Umm, no actually. When I was ten, my dad...grandfather had a stroke and he died a few months later. Maggie came home when it happened and then for the funeral and she took me home with her after that. But she still didn't tell me the truth; she kept calling herself my sister for a couple more years even though I was living in San Francisco with her full-time. Then, early last summer, she came home early from work..." Cole trailed off, his face red.

"And that's when you finally found out the truth," Logan said in a flat voice, a statement, not a question. Veronica stroked his thigh gently and he met her eyes, then laced the fingers of his free hand through hers, thumb stroking her hand comfortingly.

Cole nodded. "Once she ran my girlfriend off, she told me the actual story of my life. Drunk at a party, cute guy..." He glanced at Dick and snorted, making Mac and Logan laugh. "Bad judgment." Everyone laughed then, except Dick, who pouted. "I was pretty mad at first. My whole life was a lie. She'd abandoned me, made me think I was someone I wasn't. It was a hard time."

"Sometimes parents have to make choices," Mac said with a sigh. "They don't know everything. Sometimes the choices aren't the right ones but most of the time, they think they're doing what's best for everyone."

"Do you think that about Big Dick?" Dick asked scornfully. "Because I don't. He was doing what was best for him. He didn't think about me. He didn't think about Maggie. He certainly didn't think about Cole. He only thought about himself. Same as always."

"She's talking about real parents," Logan interrupted, "not parents like Big Dick or Aaron. I'm sure that Maggie and her parents were all trying to do what was best for Cole."

"Well, I wasn't sure about that at first but yeah, I think that you're right. They were all just doing their best. Anyway, after my mom's accident, I moved back to my grandmother in Riverside and got her to tell me what she knew about my dad. And, here I am."

"Cole Casablancas," Dick said with a grin. "Sounds good, doesn't it?"

"Stop pressuring him, Dick," Mac said but Cole interrupted.

"No, it's fine. I think he's right. If things would have gone like they should have, I would have been a Casablancas all my life. I've been a Tierney long enough. A change could be a good thing, right?"

"Damn straight," Dick said.

* * *

Veronica and Mac sat on Dick's deck overlooking the Pacific. Cole and Pony were romping in the surf while Logan and Dick stood over the grill, watching the food and catching up on the last four months.

"Umm, they did a paternity test, right?" Veronica asked quietly.

Mac looked at her scornfully. "Of course. That was the first thing we did. I'm not helpless without your guidance."

"No, I didn't think that. I wasn't sure though that Dick would go along. I mean, Cole's got a lot of physical similarity to Dick; I could see him just deciding that that was enough proof."

"He's not quite as dumb as you think he is. That was why he came to me in the first place. He wanted to make sure he found a reputable company to do the testing and he figured M.I. would know that kind of thing." Mac took a sip of her wine. "Once the test came back with a positive match, then he had me do some digging into Cole's birth, the adoption, when the family relocated from Neptune, stuff like that. I really think we covered all the bases."

"It sounds like it," Veronica said, nodding thoughtfully. "But Dick wanting the name change...that can't just happen because he wants it. The kid's a minor and his grandmother probably has custody. She may not be willing to just let the guy who knocked up her barely teenaged daughter sail in and take control."

"Actually, she's all for it. They tried to involve Dick from the beginning and it was Big Dick who blocked that. When Dick heard what his father had done, he blew up. Now I don't know what he would have done foureen years ago but today's Dick is thrilled about this. And Mrs. Tierney is happy that her grandson's father wants to be in his life. They've already met with a family law attorney to talk about Dick adopting Cole."

Veronica frowned. "You said to Dick earlier that it was up to Cole about changing his name. If Dick adopts him, wouldn't that be the logical step?"

"Adoption is complicated, especially in California, and Cole's only remaining parent is already an adoptive one. They could end up with a situation where Dick and Mrs. Tierney both end up as adoptive parents with a custody arrangement and Cole could still decide he wants to keep his mother's name. There are still decisions to be made and Cole will have a lot of say. The court assigned a guardian ad litem for him and they had their first meeting a couple days ago. If everyone can agree on something right away, then they'll move forward but if Mrs. Tierney doesn't want to give up her parental rights and they can't come to an understanding, this could drag on for a while. The good news is that it does seem like everyone's on the same page. Mrs. Tierney has moved them down here on at least a temporary basis and Cole started at Neptune High already. It's looking like Dick may end up a full-fledged dad before too much longer." Mac looked over at Veronica and raised her eyebrows. "I really suggest you lose that skeptical face."

"What?" Veronica said defensively. "This is a big surprise. You have to realize that."

"It is but he's trying really hard. I know you've got reasons to not be Dick's biggest fan but he wants this. For decent reasons too. He wants to be there for this kid. He's been talking about wanting to be a real dad, like he never had. He's been so cooperative and respectful with Mrs. Tierney that you'd barely recognize him and he got me to take him to dinner at my parents' house so he could ask them about parenting." Mac grinned over at where Dick was explaining something to Logan with exaggerated hand gestures. "I wouldn't be surprised if he made a run at your dad next. He's really serious about this."

"But it isn't just about what Dick wants. It's about what's best for this kid. Do you really think Dick is it?"

"I think he can be. I'm not sure how old Mrs. Tierney is but she definitely looks older than my parents or your dad and honestly, she doesn't look like she's in the best of health. Dick may be the only parent the kid has left in another few years. With the right support, I think they'll be fine." Mac gave Veronica a hard look. "That support is going to include your boyfriend. He's been the closest thing to family that Dick has had for years and the reverse is true. Dick is the one person who has never walked away from Logan. Even if you can't find it in yourself to be supportive for Dick's sake, can you at least not undermine him so Logan doesn't have to feel like he's caught between supporting the person who's always been there for him and keeping the love of his life happy?"

Veronica sighed. "You really don't have a very high opinion of me, do you?"

"No, no, of course that's not true," Mac said quietly. "I just know how you feel about Dick. But for once, I think you need to try to cut him some slack."

Veronica stared over at Dick and Logan. The truth was, Mac didn't exactly know how she felt about Dick, or why, just like Mac didn't know what Cassidy had done to her. But Mac was right about at least one thing. Logan deserved her support and he would get it, even if that meant being nice, or something close to it, to Dick.

At that moment, Dick pivoted away from the grille with a plate of steak in one hand and of portobellos in the other. "Come on people! Time to grub!" he bellowed and Veronica saw Cole's head snap up and he jogged toward the house, Pony jumping around him.

"Classy, Dick," Mac said with a grin as she stood up and turned to tug Veronica after her.

"Hey," Veronica said in a mock-offended voice, "watch it. The guy's feeding you. Cut him some slack."


	3. Chapter 3

One solid week of bliss wasn't as nice as two, but it was nothing to sneeze at either. And, even with the week over, and the real world intruding, the ability to wake up side-by-side, rather than having Logan be off on a ship and out of reach, was a benefit Veronica wouldn't trade for pretty much anything. Logan's internal clock was very well honed from his periods of deployment and Veronica was pretty sure that there was no better alarm clock to wake up to.

Logan still had a week of leave left but Veronica was back at work. Keith had gotten them onto an insurance company's panel of vendors and she'd been spending more time than she liked taking people's statements about their injuries at work. It was usually mind-numbingly boring but it paid the bills.

On Friday afternoon, Logan drove her to a client's warehouse in San Diego to conduct a couple of interviews and, once she was done, they joined one of his squadron-mates and his wife for dinner. Veronica had been dreading the get-together since she'd reluctantly agreed. She didn't want to be difficult and unfriendly but she knew it was her default setting when she was uncomfortable and meeting new people, especially people who only knew her as Logan's girlfriend, definitely made her uncomfortable. The Navy component magnified her issues. She understood how important the Navy was to Logan. She appreciated that it gave him the stability and focus he'd needed to put his life in order. Where she went off-track was in the total lack of control that the Navy afforded her.

Logan could deploy at practically a moment's notice. She'd just lived through that. Logan had been, and would again be, gone for extended periods of time with no possibility of contact beyond a Skype screen. Logan could die, and she might not even know for weeks. Was it any wonder that, even as she grasped why Logan felt as he did about his career and the Navy in general, that it wasn't terribly high up on her list of favorite things?

Even with these thoughts constantly in her head, she managed to enjoy the evening with Logan's fellow pilot, Havoc, and his wife, Jen. She wasn't sure why she thought Logan's Navy friends would be that different from his regular friends. Well...on the other hand...his regular friends tended to be limited to Dick most of the time and there was obviously a big difference between Dick and a decorated Naval aviator. But the sense of humor and loyalty and responsibility...okay, Logan's Navy friend may have been different from Dick but he was a lot like Logan himself. And that was a very good recommendation.

They'd lingered over coffee and dessert, Havoc and Veronica trading embarrassing Logan stories for a while, then teasing him about his blushes reaching all the way to his ears. Jen talked about her work as a neonatal nurse and Veronica told a few of her funnier work stories. Logan had bragged on her high school cases and she'd told the story of the kidnapped school mascots that he'd never heard before either.

"So are you working on anything interesting right now, Veronica?" Jen asked.

"I'm kinda like these guys when it comes to talking about work," Veronica answered. "Confidentiality and everything. Tell ya, gotta kill ya. But..." She paused and raised her eyebrows. "Let's talk generically."

"Ooh, let's," Jen said, rubbing her hands together conspiratorially.

"I did a few interviews about a work injury today on the way down here. I had virtually no information about the case before I walked in the door of the company where this lady worked." Suddenly, Logan's phone buzzed from where he'd placed it on the table.

"That's Dick," Logan said as he glanced at the screen. "Excuse me a minute." He rose and walked from the dining room toward the kitchen.

"His loss," Veronica said with a grin. "I didn't have a chance to tell him this after I was done today. I'm sure my story's way more interesting than Dick."

* * *

Logan tapped his finger on the note he'd just written to himself on a pad stuck to the refrigerator. "Okay, I've got the time and the office number. We'll be there in plenty of time tomorrow morning. Thanks for including us."

 _"You've been my only family who mattered for more than ten years. There's no way that I wouldn't include you."_ Dick's voice was husky and Logan felt a lump in his throat at the sentiment.

"I know what you mean. I've got Veronica back now but you've saved me more that once, Dick. That means a lot to me." He paused, not wanting to get emotional standing in a co-worker's kitchen, when laughter burst from the dining room. "Hey man, I've gotta go. Havoc and Veronica seem to have declared this Logan Echolls humiliation night. I've gotta get back in there and see what they're saying now."

 _"Tell 'em something embarrassing about her,"_ Dick said with a laugh.

"Like what, exactly?"

 _"I dunno, maybe how her car used to break down all the time?"_

Logan closed his eyes and shook his head. "That really doesn't seem embarrassing about her. Most people don't think it's amusing to make fun of someone because they didn't grow up with all the same advantages that you had."

 _"Yeah, I guess. And really, all our advantages didn't really seem to work to either of our advantage, if ya know what I mean. Don't get me wrong—I'm definitely happy to have money. But Mac's parents? And Veronica's dad? Both those girls did a lot better in the parent lottery than we did. Even without the trust funds."_

"You know, Dick, I think that's the most grown-up thing I've ever heard you say," Logan said, chuckling to himself. "Maybe parenthood is a good influence on you."

 _"I know, right? Okay, I'll let you get back in there to defend yourself. See ya in the morning, dude."_

Logan touched the screen of his phone to disconnect the call and pulled his note off the pad, then walked back into the noisy dining room.

"So, no samples to take home as, like, an exhibit or something to go with your report?" Havoc was saying, his face red from laughing. Jen was laughing also, but she slapped his arm at that statement.

"No, seriously, no samples. I didn't go for a tour or anything. I just went in the office, got the statements, and left. As quickly as possible." Veronica hid her face as she laughed.

"What are you guys going on about?" Logan asked, sliding back into his seat next to Veronica, his arm resting across the back of her chair.

"And this guy didn't even know where you were?" Havoc queried, with a jerk of his chin toward Logan.

"No, I told you, I had no idea myself until I got there and he was sitting down in the car the whole time." Veronica leaned against Logan's chest. "He was purely an innocent bystander."

"Okay, this isn't cool. What did I miss?"

"Only the fact that you sat in front of an adult toy manufacturer all afternoon and didn't even know it," Havoc said, still laughing.

"I did what?" Logan sputtered. "Adult toys?" He looked at Veronica who was laughing again. "That's where your interviews were?"

"Yes, as it turned out, the company is a manufacturer of 'sexual aids'." Veronica made air quotes with her fingers. "They had an employee make a stress claim after she got her lunch bag out of the fridge one day and discovered that the big kosher dill that she brought in her lunch every day wasn't a pickle anymore. I had to take statements from everyone involved, or suspected to be involved."

"And you didn't think to mention this little story when you got back to the car?" Logan asked incredulously.

"You were on the phone and then we got talking about other stuff," Veronica answered with a smirk.

"I don't know what the problem is anyway," Havoc said. "I've lived through way worse practical jokes on the ship. And she got a free toy out of it." Everyone laughed again.

"Yeah, I don't think she saw it quite like that," Veronica replied.

* * *

They left for home shortly thereafter, with promises to get together again soon. The ride home was quiet and peaceful, with the top down for the fresh air but the seat warmers on for the temperature. Veronica was considering how nervous she'd been going into the evening compared to how much she'd ended up enjoying herself when she registered Logan's voice.

"Earth to Mars." She looked up to see him glancing back and forth between her and the road.

"Funny. I've never heard that one before."

"You weren't hearing me say Veronica repeatedly—I figured I'd try something else. Where were you?" He reached out and clasped her hand. "You're okay, right?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. I had fun tonight." She turned slightly to face him, leaning closer. "I was just reconciling how nervous I was about tonight with what a good time we had." She sighed. "Good food, good company. I don't know why I always expect the worst."

Logan gave her a sympathetic smile and squeezed her hand. "Plenty of people have given you reason. It's not just something in your head. You've got some historical basis for that position."

"Yeah, that's a valid point but we were going to meet your friends. I feel reasonably confident that you're not going to drag me into a den of lions or something."

"That hasn't always been the case and it's hard to get past those kind of trust issues." He pulled his hand from hers and rubbed the back of his neck, typical anxious Logan. "I'm sorry, Veronica. I hope some day you can trust me enough to get past all the shitty things I've done."

"Logan." She reached for his arm, pulling his hand back into hers. "I do trust you. Yes, you did some shitty things. So did I. But you're a different person. No, that's not quite right. You're the same person but you've grown up. And it's not like you were ever the creator of all of my hangups." She raised his hand to her lips and kissed it. "Now this conversation needs to take another turn. We had a good time tonight; let's not spoil it going all melancholy blues."

"Yeah, if we're gonna enact any Queen songs, I've got another idea from that same album." Logan laughed when she looked at him confused but he waved his hand at her. "Never mind. So...Dick's call."

"Oh yeah, what did he want?"

"Well, he wanted to invite us to a meeting at the Balboa County Courthouse tomorrow."

Veronica frowned. "A meeting at the Courthouse? Did he get arrested? He really should be on his best behavior while they're meeting and investigating his ability to parent Cole."

"They're not doing that anymore. The meeting tomorrow is more like a little ceremony. Finalizing the adoption."

Veronica's mouth dropped open. "What? How? They only met with the guardian ad litem a couple weeks ago. How can this be done already?"

"Well, everyone involved is on the same side. From what I've heard from Dick, since there's no real disputes between he and Mrs. Tierney, the guardian's just gone through the plan they'd worked up before that first meeting, talked to Cole a couple of times to make sure he's on board too, and then she signed off on the agreement. They had their final meeting yesterday to finalize a few details and Dick's attorney called in a favor from the presiding judge to get the adoption ceremony done tomorrow."

"Unbelievable," Veronica said, shaking her head. "Only in Balboa County could Dick Casablancas get approved to adopt in two weeks."

"Veronica," Logan said in a mildly chiding tone, "they all want the same thing. I'm sure there's plenty of conflict in that system to take up the County's limited resources. When they've got parties all in agreement, why would they spend a lot of time rehashing issues that aren't in dispute?"

"Wow, you could be a public defender," Veronica teased but when Logan didn't laugh, or even smile, she started again. "Sorry. I understand your argument. I just don't understand how someone like Dick gets trusted with a kid, even if the kid is his own."

"Look, I get your issues with Dick, but look at this from an outsider's position. Someone who's never had their tires flattened by him or gotten a flaming bag of dog shit on their front porch." Veronica rolled her eyes. _I wish that was the extent of Dick's crimes against me_. "He's independently wealthy. He's partial owner of a few successful businesses. He's never been arrested as an adult and his few brushes with the law as a minor were alcohol related, not considered to be that big of a deal by most people. Yes, he has his medical marijuana card, but the State doesn't even require that anymore, so it's not likely that the County would hold that against him."

"Golly, when you put it that way..." Veronica said sarcastically. Part of her regretted her smart aleck comment immediately when Logan sighed heavily and pulled his hand out of hers again and put it back on the steering wheel. Another part wanted to shout, 'Dick gave me to Beaver' and see how he reacted then. But she had decided a long time ago to keep that information to herself, for the sake of Logan's most constant relationship, and she still thought that was the right choice. That meant though, that she had to cool it on the Dick snark. It wasn't fair to pick fights when the other person didn't even know what fight you were picking. She took a deep breath and reached for Logan's hand again.

"Veronica—" he began but she interrupted.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm so used to using Dick as the primary butt of all jokes that sometimes it's hard to stop. I'm gonna try harder." She squeezed his hand and gave him an earnest smile. "I promise."

"I know you don't like him," Logan began again but, once more, she interrupted.

"No, I don't really, but the constant bitchiness isn't productive. And it's probably hypocritical when I'm tearing down how he's doing in this new parental role he's trying to assume and all I really do is undermine him with Cole. If I want Dick to be an adult, I guess I should try to be one too."

Logan raised their joined hands and kissed hers. "Thank you, Veronica. That means more than I can say."

"Can I ask one more thing before we get out of this topic altogether?" Logan shrugged. "So everyone seems reasonably confident that this really is Dick's kid. But what surprises me a little is Mrs. Tierney's willingness to push Cole off on Dick. He's her grandson but she's treated like a son for most of his life and all of a sudden she's willing to just hand him over to Dick? Does that seem odd at all? I mean, Mac's parents couldn't give her up to her bio parents after four years. Mrs. Tierney had Cole for what, ten, eleven years? It was one thing to let her own daughter have him. It's something else to give him to a perfect stranger without any qualms."

"You don't know if she has qualms or not. Maybe this is the hardest thing she's ever done but she thinks it's right." Logan pulled the car into the parking lot. "And even good parents don't always know what's right. I mean, Mac coulda been an 09er. Was it right to deprive her of that? Who knows? I just think there's no reason to assume Mrs. Tierney has nefarious intent." He pulled the car into a space, hit the button to put the top up, and then turned the car off.

"No, you're right, it just makes me wonder if Dick really knows what he's getting himself into. Maybe she's got reason to want to hand the kid off."

Logan slammed his hand against the steering wheel. "Dammit, Veronica, now you're talking shit about a kid? It's one thing when it's Dick but come on!" He threw the car door open and got out, then slammed the door shut and walked toward the apartment.

Veronica stayed seated in the car, stunned into stillness. She and Logan really didn't fight much these days and this felt different than the usual disputes. Most of the time, if they argued, it was about her not taking sufficient safeguards. This felt different. She really hadn't meant anything big with her speculations about Mrs. Tierney perhaps having reason to pass Cole off on Dick. It was just the kind of thing that went through her head and she thought she was safe to express herself with Logan.

Veronica glanced up to see if he was still outside waiting for her but he was gone. She sighed and got out of the car. He must be really angry to not have come back for her. She made her way to the apartment and let herself in. Pony skittered up to her and pressed against her legs, whining softly.

"Hey, sweetie, where's your daddy?" The puppy gave a low bark and pressed against her more firmly. "He must be scary mad if you're with me instead of him." She scratched Pony's head and then followed the trail of the only light in the apartment to the bedroom.

She stopped short at the sight of Logan's duffle bag on the bed. He was nowhere to be seen but she heard slamming in the bathroom and went to stand in the doorway. Logan had his travel bag of toiletries on the counter and his electric razor in his hand. His lips were pressed in a hard line and his eyebrows were drawn down.

"Logan! What the hell?" She stepped into the bathroom and pushed him away from the bag he was trying to pack. He looked down at her with a grimace. "So I say a couple things you don't like and you're leaving me? I thought I was the runner in this relationship."

"Veronica, I—"

"No! This isn't enough to warrant you running out on me." She poked his chest with her finger and he backed away reflexively. "All the times before when I ran away were a lot more than you saying a couple things that I didn't like."

"Veron—"

"No!" She snatched the bag off the counter and threw it under the sink, then made a grab for the razor, but he moved his arm behind him. "No, Logan, you're not leaving me. Not like this. I won't let you go for a stupid reason like this. I'm sorry that I said some things you didn't like in the car. I was just thinking out loud and it's never been a problem for you before. I wasn't trying to badmouth Cole, or Mrs. Tierney, or even Dick. I was just running through my train of thought and I didn't know you'd get so—"

Her rant was brought to an abrupt halt when Logan dropped the razor on the counter and stepped forward to put his hand over her mouth.

"Can I talk now?" He pulled his hand away when she nodded. The thunderous look on his face was gone.

"I'm not leaving you. That was never my intent—"

"Well, what's with the—" His hand came over her mouth again.

"My turn. Remember?" He smiled down at her and wrapped his free arm around her waist. "Gonna let me finish?"

She looked down, her cheeks warming, then looked up at him again. "Mmhmm," she murmured in assent, nodding her head. He removed his hand slowly.

"Okay, to finish my thought...I was mad but I wasn't ever planning to leave, not permanently at least. Admittedly, I was a little peeved—" she snorted "—and I was thinking it made sense to go to Dick's for the night so I could just go with them to the courthouse in the morning. If you're that against this happening, I think it's better if you don't go. They're all excited about this step and if you're not, you should just sit this out."

"That wasn't my point. I'd like to go, if you're willing to have me there."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Really?"

"Yeah, really." She took his hand and turned back to the door, tugging him after her into the bedroom. "And I certainly hope that you'd rather sleep with me than crash on Dick's couch." She led him to the bed, throwing his duffle onto the floor before pulling him down next to her.

"You're really tough on my luggage tonight," he said with a laugh.

"That's what it gets for being out to mess with my head," she answered, scooting back on the bed, pulling him with her. When they reached the headboard, she straddled his lap and rested her hands on his chest.

"Things sure move fast around here," Logan said with a smile. "A minute ago, you were yelling at me. Now...well...let's just say things look promising."

"A minute ago, all I could see was you packing your stuff," she answered.

He ducked his head to kiss her neck. "Is it too weird to tell you," he said between kisses, "that you yelling at me that you wouldn't let me leave you was a massive turn-on?"

"It is a little weird," she said with a breathless laugh, her head falling back to give him more space to kiss. She ran her hands up and down his arms. "I wasn't trying to pick a fight with you. I really was just thinking out loud. You should know by now that I'm suspicious of just about everyone's motives."

"Very aware of that," he mumbled against her throat.

"And giving up a kid, that seems like a big deal. You're right, maybe it's the hardest thing she's ever done and she's crying into her pillow every night. But unless I see those tears, I'm always gonna be a little...shall we say...dubious."

"Oh, let's. I like the way your mouth looks when you say it." He straightened up, chuckling, brushed his lips across hers and started to unbutton her blouse.

"What?" She laughed and shook her head at him. "How does my mouth look?" She wrinkled her nose at him. "Dub—" Before she could finish, he swooped in with another kiss. When he pulled away and went back to working on her buttons, she laughed again.

"Okay, now I understand. So does this mean that when I'm dub—" He interrupted her again with another kiss. "Okay, so is this like your Pavlovian response to anytime I say—" She paused and he smirked, stilling his hands "—that word—" he huffed playfully and went back to the last of her buttons "then you're gonna kiss me? Appropriate timing be damned?"

"I'd like to give it a shot," he said, pulling the blouse off her shoulders and tossing it off the side of the bed. "Knowing you like I do, I foresee this being a fairly common occurrence, you saying that word, and I'll take any excuse for a kiss that I can find."

Veronica shook her head but couldn't control her smile. "You're ridiculous."

Logan shrugged, then reached behind her back, unhooking her bra. "You've called me worse," he said and pulled her down against him.


	4. Chapter 4

"Congratulations, Mr. Casablancas. Both of you."

The judge extended her hand to Dick, who shook it with the eagerness of a giant puppy. Cole laughed at his now legal father and shook the judge's hand next, slightly more sedately. "Thank you, ma'am."

Veronica smiled fondly in spite of herself as Dick turned to Cole and wrapped his arms around him. She actually had to swallow back a lump in her throat when Cole hugged him back and Dick started to cry against the boy's shoulder. She felt Logan pull her more tightly against him and she purposely avoided looking up at him, knowing that he was going to have tears on his face also. She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed, then glanced around the room. Mrs. Tierney was dabbing at her eyes with a tissue with Mac standing next to her, eyes suspiciously shiny. Veronica's eyes met Mac's and they smiled at each other.

Dick straightened up and wiped at his tears before turning both he and Cole toward Mrs. Tierney. "Thank you so much," Dick said as he embraced the woman. "Thank you for taking care of my boy before I knew he existed and thank you for sharing him with me now." They were both crying openly as they hugged and Cole stood next to them with a hand on each of them.

"Crap," Veronica whispered to herself, leaning her face against Logan's chest to absorb any pesky moisture that may or may not have been leaking from her eyes. Logan scrunched down to peer at her, frowning, probably thinking something was wrong, but when he saw her face, he smiled and kissed the top of her head before looking back at the scene in front of him.

Mrs. Tierney pulled away from Dick and turned to embrace Cole, and then all three turned toward their tiny audience. "Thanks for coming, guys," Dick said. "It was really important to us to share this moment with the people who matter the most in our lives. We're really glad you could come." There were hugs and more tears all around and then they all headed for a celebratory lunch.

Veronica was pretty sure that Logan was going to tease her about getting emotional about something Dick-related so she was surprised when they reached the car and, before he opened her door, he scooped her up in his arms and gave her a long, lingering kiss.

"Thank you," he said, his voice rough, when they broke apart.

"Umm, you're welcome? What are you thanking me for exactly? I mean, feel free to thank me like that anytime but it would probably be easier to repeat my good behavior if I knew what I did."

"Coming with me today. Caring about what happened. It really means a lot to me." He leaned down for one more kiss, then let her slide back to her feet before opening her car door. "And now, on to your other reward. Lunch provided by Dick."

* * *

Veronica was in her office on Monday, finishing her report memorializing Friday's interviews, when Mac appeared in her doorway.

"Hey, Bond, did you bring your lunch?"

"No, I kept reminding myself but then I was in a rush and ran out without anything. How 'bout you?"

"I did, but I really don't want to eat it. I'm kinda hankering for the veggie tacos down at the food trucks. If I can get you to go with me, then I don't feel as bad about skipping out on the celery and hummus."

Veronica shuddered. "Now I feel a moral imperative to go to lunch with you. 12:30 PM?"

"That works. Thanks for saving me," Mac said with a grin before she disappeared out of the doorway.

At 12:30 PM, Mac and Veronica took the short stroll down to the empty lot where the food trucks congregated and ordered gourmet tacos from Ta-Go and then went to the small park across the street to settle on a sun-drenched bench.

"So, Bond, it looked like even your hard, hard heart was a little warmed by that display on Saturday," Mac said, smirking over her taco, and Veronica sneered at her.

"I'm not hard-hearted," she protested. "I'm just not a big Dick fan. And it would have been hard for anyone to watch that and not feel the feels."

"I know you're not; I was just messing with you." Mac took a sip of her soda. "They're so funny together. Sometimes, you'd swear Cole was the parent but Dick's been really surprising. He's completely invested in this kid's welfare. Last week, he went to the high school to meet with Clemmons to make sure that all the classes that Cole's in are 'the most advantageous for his future'." Mac grinned as she made air quotes. "They actually moved him up into two Honors classes after that. The kid is really smart. Did you know he skipped second grade? That's why he's so young for his class."

"You double-checked the paternity results, right?" Veronica teased.

"Dick's not dumb, he's just always been able to get by on nothing more than the doofus routine. Big Dick was clever enough to build a sizable empire before his greed caught up with him. And Cassidy, he was super smart too."

Veronica grimaced. "Yeah, smart enough to blow up multiple people and almost get away with it. Let's just hope that Cole uses his smarts in a better way than his uncle or grandfather."

"Amen to that." Mac raised her cup to Veronica's and they bumped them together. "I'm pretty optimistic at this point that he'll be able to avoid his criminal family history. First, Dick's involved in everything he does right now so it'd be tough to launch a life of crime without getting caught. And, on top of that, he just seems like a nice boy. Always respectful, friendly, helpful. He just doesn't seem the type."

Veronica pressed her lips together, willing the words to not slip out.

"I know what you're thinking, Veronica," Mac said. "Did Cassidy seem like the type? And no, he didn't at the time but with the benefit of hindsight and time, yeah, there were definitely things about him that were off. I was just too young and insecure and in puppy love to understand that and nobody else was paying that close of attention."

"I'm sorry, Mac." Veronica cringed at the thought of Mac and Cassidy. "I didn't mean to bring up any old...stuff."

"It's fine. It's not like I haven't talked the subject of Cassidy to death with the therapists my parents forced me to see and it has been more than a decade. It doesn't sting like it used to." Mac popped the last of her taco into her mouth and crumpled the wrapper into the bag they'd re-purposed for trash.

"Yeah, that makes sense. And even if he is super smart, Cole still makes me think of Dick more than Cassidy. In a good way. And you know what's really weird? I think he's actually making me like Dick a little bit." Veronica paused and held up her hand, index finger and thumb held very slightly apart. "Just a wee little bit."

Mac laughed and stood up, carrying their trash to the garbage can. "I know what you mean. I only punched him once when he commented on my ass yesterday."

"Ooh, that's a scary thought. If it gets to the point where I hear you thank him, I'm gonna have to start punching you."

They both laughed again. "At least his lewd comments are always appreciative," Mac said as they walked back toward the office.

* * *

"If you catch the evildoer in the act soon enough, come join me at Dick's," Logan said as he leaned down to kiss Veronica good bye. It was Saturday again and although Logan was currently on a weekdays only schedule, surveillance wasn't as cooperative and Veronica was heading out on a job.

"In the alternative," she replied, pulling him closer, "when I get home, I could send you a text and then wait for you in bed." She gave him a long kiss before pulling away and fixing him with shining eyes.

"I may be able to work with that," he said in a husky voice and leaned in to kiss her some more. "Or maybe I'll just come with you and skip the barbecue."

"Oh no," she laughed, pulling out of his arms. "You're what they call NSFW. My mark could run naked across the Camelot parking lot with his mistress chasing him and I'd probably miss it from the backseat of my car. You go to Dick and Cole's and help Dick chaperone a bunch of high school students. I cannot wait to hear how that goes."

Logan tried pulling her back against him. "You really think I'm that distracting?"

She laughed and shook her head at him, pushing him back with her hand against his chest. "Oh stop. Fishing for compliments is beneath you. You know exactly how distracting you are." She spun away from him and grabbed her messenger bag, digging in it momentarily before looking up at him again. "All right, I'm out." She moved back to him and brushed her lips across his. "Try to keep Dick in line. I'll see you later."

Logan smiled as he watched her go, raising his hand to wave as she glanced back before slipping out the door. Once she was gone, he headed back to the bedroom to finish getting ready for Cole's party.

Dick had agreed when Cole asked if he could have a party with his friends on the beach at their house. Dick had always been up for a party in high school so he was all for his new son hosting 'the blowout of the year'. It wasn't until he started considering what those blowouts had consisted of that Dick got nervous and asked for help. As it turned out, Cole wasn't really planning a blowout, just a barbecue and some time on the beach, but Dick decided he still needed backup so Logan, Veronica, and Mac were supposed to be coming to help make sure things didn't get out of hand. Veronica's last-minute job took her out of the mix but Logan was pretty sure that the three of them would be able to keep a few teenagers in check.

A few hours later, it was obvious he'd been right. Cole's friends were polite and fairly reserved, especially in comparison to Logan's recollection of 09er parties in his past. He and Mac were sitting at the dining table playing liar's dice when Dick came in from the back deck.

"What is wrong with these kids?" Dick asked as he kicked the door shut behind him. He was carrying in the plate of leftover burgers. "They're just out there lounging around. I'd be embarrassed to show my face if I partied like this in high school."

Mac rolled her eyes at Logan, shaking her head before directing herself to Dick. "Is now the time to point out that your version of high school partying included knocking up someone you barely knew?" Logan snorted, nearly losing his mouthful of soda through his nose.

"That was only once," Dick said dryly. "As far as I know." He shrugged. "Okay, I'll admit it. I'm glad Cole's a good kid and I'm glad his friends look like they're good kids too. It just seems...I dunno...unnatural that none of them showed up with a six pack of beer or a bottle of Jack Daniels. Just sayin'."

"Don't be so sure that there's not something hiding out in some of the older kids' cars," Logan said. "But they're not going to carry it into the parent's house right in front of him. They might sneak it in later, once it's dark and they think you can't see. You gotta face it, Dick. You're the old guy now."

Dick wrinkled his nose. "I feel like I should be insulted, but that makes sense, I guess."

"Well, I'm insulted," Mac said with a grimace. "We're the same age so doesn't that make me old too?"

"Nah, Mackie, you're a dangerously hot older woman," Dick said. "That crazy rad hair and the smokin' bod that won't quit? You're wet dream material." Logan groaned and dropped his head into his hands.

"Wrong answer, Dick," he said but Mac interrupted him.

"That definitely sounds like it should be the wrong answer but it was strangely, uncomfortably gratifying to hear," she said, her cheeks flushing pink. "But neither of you better repeat this conversation to Veronica, like, ever. Got it?"

"No problem," Logan answered. "Pretty sure she'd kick my ass for letting him say something like that to you." He held up his dice. "Dick, are you getting in on this game or not?"

"Sure, why not? I'm old now, right? I better learn some hip friendly pastimes."

* * *

Dick was finding that Mac was a far superior liar to either he or Logan when the front door banged open. Cole's friend, Trevor, walked through, followed by a teen-aged girl whose name Dick couldn't recall. They were both red-faced, looking down, seeming embarrassed. When Veronica appeared right behind them, Dick understood.

"Party's back there, guys," she said, a smirk on her face, as she herded them through the room toward the back door. As she passed the table, Logan reached out and snagged her hand, pulling her back into his lap.

"Are you harassing Cole's guests, Sugarpuss?" he asked, snuggling his face against her neck. Trevor and the girl paused and looked back at them, Trevor with a grin and the girl with eyebrows raised.

"Someone has to; the three of you are completely inadequate as chaperones," she huffed, trying to squirm away without success as Logan locked the tree trunks he called arms around her.

"What was your heinous crime, Trev?" Dick asked in an affected drawl, grinning at Veronica. She was still fixing the young couple with a stern look but it was apparent that she was no longer completely committed because her head had tipped back, leaving room for Logan to kiss her neck. "Marshal Mars is pretty unforgiving of those who stray across the line between right and wrong."

"We were just hanging out on the porch," Trevor said. "Talking." Veronica snorted, then straightened, ducking her chin enough to force Logan to pull back with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Veronica rolled her eyes at him and then glanced back at Trevor.

"There wasn't much conversation going on when I got here," she said and Mac scoffed.

"Oh, like you've got room to talk."

"Hey, we're adults in a committed relationship," Veronica said indignantly. The beaming smile that broke across Logan's face at her words made Dick shake his head.

"So maybe that's your rationale now but you haven't always been 'adults' and I've seen plenty of that same behavior from the two of you when you were much closer to Trevor and Kate's ages."

Veronica colored and Logan laughed. "She's got ya there."

"I wasn't saying they needed to stay five feet apart," Veronica said irritably. "I was just thinking that they should go back to the party with everyone else."

"We're going," the girl, apparently Kate, said, and she reached for Trevor's hand before they disappeared out the back door.

"I really think that none of you bothered to read the chaperone's handbook," Veronica said, looking disdainfully at all of them.

"That's not a thing," Logan responded and Mac snickered.

"It could be a thing." Veronica stood and walked to the fridge. She pulled out a beer and turned to look at Logan. "Are we staying here for a while longer? We've got both cars so if we're not gonna stay, I won't have this."

"Why are you here anyway?" Logan asked. "I thought you were going to go home once you finished working and send me a text."

"That was really a plan?" She face palmed. "I thought we were kidding around. Huh. Maybe I'll be heading home now then."

"What are you talking about, Ronnie?" Dick asked. "Party's still going strong. Have your beer. Your car's fine here overnight if you can't drive and you have to catch a ride home with your boyfriend. Or, you guys can crash here. Whatever. It's cool."

"What are you guys doing anyway?" Veronica asked, walking back to the table with two beers. She placed one in front of Dick, then pulled up a chair next to Logan. "Just sittin' around playing some dice game?"

"Hey, thanks, Rons...yeah, Macster is proving just how good of a liar she actually is. I had absolutely no idea. I always thought she was a good girl." Dick grinned over at Mac. She really did get more intriguing with nearly every interaction he had with her.

"I am," Mac protested. "I've just got a good poker face."

"Poker! Now, poker, that's an activity that I can get behind," Veronica said. "Any chance of talking y'all into that?"

* * *

They made it home with both cars but Sunday morning was not going as planned. "So, please don't take too long," Veronica said, as she leaned into Logan's car window for another kiss. "I really hadn't expected us to get out of bed this morning, except maybe a break to take Pony out."

Logan grinned and wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, locking them together for a long kiss. When they broke apart, the intensity in his eyes made her shiver. "I am so with you on that. Between your last minute surveillance and now my impromptu security briefings, I have not gotten enough Veronica time this weekend." He kissed her again. "But I've gotta go. Being late is a very bad idea."

"Uh huh," she said, grimacing. "Don't want to get ya thrown in the brig. Then it will be even longer before you come home so I can peel you out of this thing." She ran her hand down the front of his flight suit. "Who woulda thought a jumpsuit could look so damn appealing?"

"Flight suit, please, not jumpsuit. And the movies all seem to think it. Why do you think I picked this career?" He kissed her again. "I'm going. I'll call when I'm leaving the base."

"Have a good day. I'll miss you." Veronica backed away from the car and watched Logan drive away, then headed back up to the apartment. Pony met her at the door.

"Sorry, girl, it's only me," she said, crouching down to rub behind the puppy's ears. "Daddy had to go to work but he shouldn't be gone all day and then we'll all go down to the beach. Sound good?" Pony banged her nose into Veronica's shoulder and knocked her on her butt. "Hey, that wasn't nice," she scolded but snuggled the dog against her. "So what are we going to do with ourselves until he's back? Maybe go visit Grandpa?" Pony's tail wagged eagerly and Veronica laughed. "Okay, then. Let me up and I'll get ready to go."

* * *

Veronica gave the salad one last toss and then scooped out servings onto the plates on the counter. "So what's it been like working with your old friend again? It must be nice to have a friendly in the sheriff's office for a change."

"I wouldn't call Marcia Langdon an old friend. She was a teenaged girl with a criminal brother and I was a deputy. I think it remains to be seen just how friendly she'll actually be." Keith transferred slices of grilled chicken to the top of Veronica's salad and then his own. "She has, however, sent over some people who don't actually have law enforcement worthy issues."

"Are you sure that's our new sheriff? I think we're as likely to get referrals from my old pal Norris Clayton as Sheriff Langdon." Veronica picked up her lunch plate and moved into the living room, her father following behind her. As Veronica settled on the couch, Pony stood up from her bed in the corner and took a step toward the couch but Keith snapped his fingers and pointed at her sternly and she settled into the bed again with a pitiful whine.

"You might be right but at least one of them specifically mentioned that Marcia had suggested they come see us."

"I don't get why she won't respond to me like that," Veronica said, staring over at Pony. "Backup always did what I told him. She listens to you and Logan, even Cole, but me? I get no respect."

"I could point out that I trained Backup so he was better behaved. You two treat that puppy like a kid."

"We do not. If that were true, she wouldn't mind Logan like she does."

"Military discipline," Keith said with a smirk.

"Ugh." Veronica shuddered. "He said the same thing. It's even creepier to hear you talk about it." She curled her feet under her on the couch. "So, off that topic and back to the last one...which case was referred by our fine new sheriff?"

"Oh, it was the guy who thought his neighbor was stealing his prize-winning tomatoes."

"What? I didn't hear about that case." Veronica looked at her dad, her face screwed up in scorn. "That's the kind of business she's sending us? Not so friendly after all."

"It paid," Keith said. "Pretty well considering how easy it was."

"So, was he?"

"Was who what?"

"Was the neighbor stealing the tomatoes?" Veronica said in an exasperated voice.

"Oh, yeah, definitely. Peppers too."

"So that's theft then. Doesn't that make it a job for the sheriff?"

"That may not even qualify as petty theft. If it does, it's the pettiest of the petty. She's trying to root out department-wide corruption, Veronica. She doesn't really have time for pilfered produce."

"So in the case of the purloined pepper, what did you do once you'd proven guilt? Do they have to handle it civilly since it's not big enough for law enforcement to care? Maybe take it to Judge Judy?"

Keith snickered. "They could but I'm pretty sure that they're just gonna work it out. The thief wasn't some career criminal. He saw the tomatoes and peppers and had visions of salsa. He was really embarrassed and apologized and offered to make restitution. It didn't look like there was gonna be any bloodshed so I just left them to work it out."

"You better hope there's no blood spilt. The way this town turns on a dime? You'll be the one getting investigated for not taking appropriate safety measures." Veronica rolled her eyes. "They're nuts, you know. The people of Neptune."

"Present company excepted, right?"

Veronica snorted. "I guess. Most of the time." Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out eagerly, hoping to see that Logan was on his way home but the Caller ID said DICK and she sighed as she answered the call.

"Dick. Why are you calling me?"

 _"Hey, Ronnie, sorry to bug you but Logan's phone's going straight to voicemail. Is he with you?"_

"No. He got called in for some emergency briefing this morning. His phone's off, I'm sure."

 _"What's that about?"_

Veronica sighed. "I'm sure I don't know, Dick. You know how things go there. Need to know only, and you and I don't need to. The world's a scary, dangerous place right now, and Logan's new boss is crazy, so who knows."

 _"Yeah, that's true."_ Dick's voice was subdued. _"You don't think they'll make him go back out there again so soon, do you?"_

"I don't have the faintest idea, Dick," Veronica answered. "I hope not." This conversation was veering toward issues she did her best not to think about. She obviously had no control over U.S. military policy so the less she thought about the possibilities, the better she slept. "I know you didn't call to talk about military deployment issues. What do you need, Dick?"

 _"Uh, yeah, well, I tried Mac but she's spending the afternoon with the bio-Mom and Sis so I was hoping Logan could help me out. But..."_

"Just spit it out, Dick," Veronica said through clenched teeth. She looked over at her dad who had leaned back in his chair, his hands laced together across his middle, amusement evident in his face. She curled her lip up at him and he snickered.

 _"Okay, Cole's gone off skating with his friends. The session's over_ _at 4:00 PM_ _but I need to go have a conversation with one of my business partners before we don't have a business left to partner. Is there any way you can pick him up for me? I wouldn't ask but I'm kinda desperate right now and I can't really think of anyone else."_

"You have meetings with business partners?"

His snorting laugh rattled through the phone. _"Yes, Veronica, I have meetings with business partners. It's how I keep having businesses."_

"I had no idea." She looked over at her dad who was shaking with silent laughter. "Huh, okay, well, I guess I can help you out if Logan's not back by then. I can't be responsible for your business failing. You and Cole are not moving into my apartment. We're crowded enough in there as it is."

 _"I'll try to keep that in mind, Rons. Thanks for the help. Talk to you in a while."_


	5. Chapter 5

_And now, back to our regularly scheduled program..._

* * *

Veronica walked into the skating rink, looking around with interest. It had been years since she'd been here last, probably around the time that Logan had moved to Neptune. She could remember skating here with Lilly, Duncan in reluctant tow, but she could not recall any time here that included Logan. Oddly enough, since she was here to pick up Cole, she could remember times here with Maggie Tierney. And Dick, and Cassidy, and Meg, and...honestly, so many people. Being here was like a blast from the past.

She stopped at the snack bar and got a soda, then moved to a table to watch the skaters. She spotted Cole with a group of laughing kids at an air hockey table. Veronica grinned and sipped her drink, watching the skaters go round and round. Cole's group moved onto the floor, pushing each other back and forth, and, as they neared the spot where Veronica sat, she saw one of the kids from last night's party notice her and elbow Cole. He looked up toward her, then smiled and headed her direction.

"Veronica! What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Cole, I'm your ride. Dick...your dad...had to go to a meeting and Mac and Logan were both otherwise occupied so he had to call in the second string." They both laughed. "But I'm early so you can go back with your friends. I haven't been here in forever; I just wanted to see if anything had changed in the last twenty years."

"Well?"

"Nope. Oh, except it looks like they've switched out the video games." She peered over the rail at his feet. "Your dad probably wore those skates back in the day."

Cole looked at her, surprise on his face. "My dad used to come here?"

"Uh, yeah." She paused, looking at her hands for a moment, then back up at him. "Your mom, too. I was just remembering that."

"Really?" Cole leaned heavily against the railing. "I don't really think about her growing up here. I mean, obviously, I know she did, but since I never saw her here, I only ever picture her in Riverside. Or up in San Francisco."

Veronica nodded. "That makes sense but she definitely was here, back then at least."

"So, hey, give me a minute and I'll go get my shoes so we can go."

Veronica smiled. Mac was right. He was a very nice, cooperative boy. "No, there's no hurry, I'm fine here. I really did come a little early to check the place out. Skate 'til the end." She made a shooing motion. "Go on. Go have fun."

Cole grinned and nodded, then turned to skate away. She watched him collide with his group of friends, literally, and she laughed at the friendly scuffle that ensued. She watched the skaters going round for another few minutes, then pulled her phone out to check her email and see if Logan had texted that he was on his way home yet. Nothing from Logan and the emails were dispatched in short order. There were still a few minutes left of the afternoon session so she'd just popped open Candy Crush when she heard a naggingly familiar voice drawl out her name.

"Veronica Mars. What in the world are you doing here?"

She looked up and her eyes widened in shock before she heard Logan's voice in her head. _'We're going skating next week.'_ Ruby Jetson stood in front of her, arms crossed over her chest and eyebrows raised.

"Ruby. Hi. Wow. This is quite a surprise." Ruby Jetson, or maybe she was back to being Della Pugh, was dressed in what Veronica considered her regular person clothes, not the Bonnie DeVille wig and cat's eye makeup.

"I'm not the surprise here, you are. I come here every Sunday night." Ruby dropped onto the bench across the table from Veronica. "What are you doing here, Veronica? I heard that you stuck around after you cleared Logan of the murder charges but I did not expect to see you at my favorite hangout." She cocked her head and glanced around hopefully. "Is Logan here too?"

"No, no, he's working." Under cover of the table, Veronica crossed her fingers that he wouldn't choose this moment to call and say he was on his way back to town. "So, you know, I never did circle back to say thank you. It's funny, but your theory about Bonnie's music and the boat weren't all that far off the mark. Her secret was a _little_ different than what you suggested but all in all, you were on the right track."

"So ya think I've got what it takes to be a detective like you?"

Veronica had a momentary coughing fit as she struggled not to laugh. "Who knows? Anything's possible, I guess."

"I'm still waiting to hear what brings you here all by your lonesome. Are you on a job?"

Veronica let herself laugh this time. "Oh no, well, not a detective job at least. I'm playing taxi...picking up a friend's kid. He had to work so I agreed to help him out."

"Well, isn't that accommodating of you," Ruby said sarcastically.

"They don't call me helpful Veronica Mars for nothing," Veronica said with a smirk. Ruby opened her mouth, probably with a smug retort but she was interrupted before she could speak.

"Aunt Dee? Is that you?"

Cole stood beside the table, back in his shoes, staring at Ruby, whose mouth was now gaping open.

"Cole?" she said incredulously, "Are you really little Cole Tierney?"

The boy nodded. "Yep, it's me. Who else would call you Aunt Dee? It's been so long, I'm not surprised you don't recognize me. But you look the same as the last time you came to visit, before my mom moved to San Francisco."

"Your mom?" Ruby asked, clearly shocked. "So...umm...you know?"

"Yeah, she told me after my dad...grandpa, actually...died. I'd gone to live with her first, and she told me a while later." He colored slightly and looked at Veronica, who gave him a small smile and a nod. She wasn't going to spill the secret of what prompted Maggie's confession to Ruby Jetson.

"So, are you guys visiting relatives or something in Neptune? Your mom should have called me. How long are you going to be here? Maggie and I have to get together. It's been what, like, four or five years? She can't sneak in and out of town without seeing me."

Cole looked at her with dismay, then glanced toward Veronica. She smiled reassuringly and patted the bench next to her. Once he sat, she looked over at the grinning Ruby.

"Umm, Ruby, there's something you need to hear. I'm so sorry that we have to tell you this but Maggie...she died, Ruby. Several months ago."

Ruby's face crumpled and her eyes welled with tears. "That's not true. Why would you say that? If Maggie had died, someone would've told me."

"Grandma did have me look for you online," Cole interjected. "She knew Mom was your best friend, even if you hadn't seen each other in a while. But we couldn't find you. She was so upset."

"Were you looking for Della Pugh?" Veronica asked and Ruby sighed.

"Yeah, I changed my name after the last time we saw each other. That's why they couldn't find me." Ruby laid her head on her crossed arms, hiding her face, shoulders shaking as she cried.

Cole and Veronica exchanged uncomfortable looks and then Cole stood up and moved around the table to sit next to Ruby, putting his arm awkwardly around her.

"I'm so sorry you had to find out this way," he said and she looked up at him, face red and blotchy.

"I don't think it's about how I found out, it's that it's true at all." She lowered her head again, continuing to cry while Cole patted her back nervously.

A few minutes passed with Ruby's muffled sobs the only sound between them. When Veronica's phone buzzed, she felt both guilty and relieved. She picked up the phone to find a text, not from Logan as she hoped, but from Dick.

"Your dad's meeting's going longer than expected," she said quietly to Cole. "You can just come home with me."

Ruby's head raised and she grabbed a handful of napkins out of the dispenser on the table and began mopping at her devastated face.

"What are you doing with my best friend's son, Veronica Mars?" she asked, her voice still ravaged by the tears. "Why do you know more about her life than I do?"

"I told you I was picking him up for his dad. Remember? Before we figured out you knew him."

Ruby studied her for a moment and then a horrified look replaced the grief. "Logan's his dad?" She dropped her head into her hands again.

"What? No!" Veronica said, getting exasperated with the drama. "Why would you think that?"

Ruby's head snapped back up and her tone turned caustic. "Everyone knows he ran back to you. Who else's kid would you be hauling around?"

Veronica sighed and looked at Cole, then reached into her bag and pulled out a ten dollar bill. "Go get yourself a snack, please. I'll be with you in a few minutes." Cole's eyebrows furrowed, then he looked from her to Ruby before standing and walking to the snack bar line.

"So, why the histrionics at the mere idea that Logan's the kid's dad?" Veronica asked, then she clapped herself on the head. "Oh, of course, I get it. You don't want to think about your best friend getting knocked up by your dream boy."

"And abandoned," Ruby spat out, suddenly fierce. "Don't forget that. Knocked up, and abandoned, and hustled out of town. Not just my best friend, my only friend. So no, I'd rather if it wasn't Logan who screwed her over, literally and figuratively, then ruined her life, and mine too, since I lost my only friend."

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't say that Cole ruined her life in front of him," Veronica said with a sneer.

"That's not what I meant," Ruby answered.

"He won't know that. So watch yourself. And from what I understand, Cole's dad didn't abandon Maggie, or him. He never knew."

"What? How's that?"

"I take it that Maggie kept a lot of these details to herself? You're her best friend and you don't even know who got her pregnant? How is that possible?" Veronica looked at Ruby quizzically. She had no recollection of Della Pugh from back in the day. She'd been a year behind them in school and she always figured that was the reason she didn't remember, even though Ruby had claimed she spoke to Veronica about the dance team in what would have been early sophomore year. All Veronica had cared about then were Duncan and Lilly and Logan so it seemed like no wonder that a frizzy-haired freshman hadn't registered in her brain.

"She didn't want me to know. I had my suspicions but if you're doing a favor for her dad, then I was wrong because the guy I thought it was is dead." Ruby blew her nose loudly into her handful of napkins and Veronica shuddered. "So who's his dad?"

Veronica paused. This seemed like private information but it was also public record and Cole was using Casablancas now so she guessed it couldn't hurt. "Dick Casablancas is Cole's father. But Dick was only told in the last few months. He didn't abandon Maggie." She looked at her hands, smiling ruefully, unable to believe she was defending Dick. When she looked back up, she was caught off guard by the look of shock on Ruby's face. "What?"

"You said _Dick_ Casablancas? Are you sure?"

"Well, obviously I wasn't there when it happened but that's the story that Cole and Mrs. Tierney and Dick's dad and former step-mom all told." She frowned at Ruby, suspicion running through her. "Why? Why don't you believe that?"

"She didn't like Dick. She thought he was a mean jerk. She liked someone else."

Veronica shrugged. "Nothing I've heard about this whole thing would lead me to believe that this was an encounter with the teenage love of her life. Everything I've heard was that this was a drunken hookup at a party. I know it doesn't really sound like the Maggie I remember but we were friends in elementary school. Even the nicest girls sometimes make bad choices at their first high school party."

Ruby still wore a look of disbelief. "It's just...so weird...she hated Dick. She said he was so mean to..."

A wave of dizziness rolled over Veronica as she was suddenly certain who Maggie had liked. Who Dick was mean to most frequently. Who would possibly make a positive paternity test for Dick be false.

"Ruby, who did Maggie like?"

"Cassidy. Cassidy Casablancas."

* * *

Pony met Logan at the front door of the apartment. "Hey girl, how was your day?" The puppy whined pitifully and tried to push past him to get outside. "Mommy's not home yet, I guess, since you seem to have an urgent need here. Hang on a sec."

Logan dropped his bag in the entry and grabbed the leash, snapping it onto Pony's collar and then following her down the stairs. He'd texted Veronica forty-five minutes earlier and she'd responded that she'd meet him at home. She hadn't elaborated on where she was but he'd heard Dick's voicemails asking for help getting Cole home from an outing with his friends and his last one letting him know that Veronica had stepped up so he wasn't concerned. The thought of her letting herself be roped into helping Dick made him smile. She was obviously getting more...tolerant? maybe even accepting? of Dick since Cole had come into the picture and Logan was relieved. Dick and Veronica had achieved a somewhat shaky détente of sorts before he'd headed back out on his impromptu deployment but Veronica was spending more time with Dick, and, as of today, even doing him favors, since Logan's return and Cole's appearance. He wasn't sure whether to credit it to the addition of Cole to their lives or to Veronica and Dick's efforts to make Logan's own life easier but truthfully, he didn't care why things were better. He was just grateful.

The puppy tugged on the leash and Logan looked at her to find Veronica walking toward them, a smile that looked forced on her face.

"Hey you," she said in a strained voice, folding herself into his embrace.

"Hi. Sorry I was so long," he said, wrapping his arms around her tightly and kissing the top of her head. "You okay?"

She nodded against his chest. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Her mood gave him doubts but he knew better than to push. "So, what did you do today?" They turned together toward the apartment, Pony leading the way.

"Pony and I went to Dad's for lunch and then later Dick got a hold of me and I agreed to pick up Cole at the skating rink when he was done. I brought Pony home and then went over." They reached the apartment and he led her inside and over to the sofa, dropping onto it with her in his lap. She smiled up at him, more like she actually meant it this time, and snuggled against his chest, head tucked under his chin. "I missed you."

"Yeah, that briefing lasted way too long. That was not how I wanted to spend my day," Logan said, trailing a hand up her arm. "Maybe we can at least spend the evening the right way. Do I need to feed you first or—"

"Are you going to have to go back?"

Her abrupt interruption caught him off guard and he wrinkled his nose at her. "To the base? Not tonight. Back bright and early in the morning though."

"That's not what I meant. Are you going to have to go back on the ship?"

He jerked in surprise. "Not that I know of," Logan said. "That never came up, I promise you. It can happen but no one has said anything that suggests that's in the works." He buried his face in her hair. "Have you been worrying about _that_ all day?"

"No," she answered. "I didn't even think it up; Dick did. It was just the easiest topic to start with."

He sat up and looked at her. "Another deployment so soon was the easiest topic? What else do you have to talk about that's harder?"

"I saw your other girlfriend today."

He looked down at her with horror. She thought he was seeing someone else? "Veronica, I don't know what you think I'm doing but I swear—"

She shook her head frantically as her hand flew up over his mouth. "Oh no, Logan, I'm so sorry. I was trying to lighten this up, not make you think...no. I don't think you would ever do anything like that."

Logan exhaled heavily, dropping his head back against the back of the sofa. "I don't consider discussion of me having another girlfriend to be light conversation."

"Yeah, I can see that. I'm sorry." She leaned into him. "Although, to be fair, do you think I'd climb into your lap to call you a cheater? This position doesn't exactly scream 'accusatory'."

"Well, it does put you in a better position to use the piano wire."

She laughed loudly at the old reference. "You misunderstood me all those years ago. The piano wire was never for you, Snookums. That would have been counter productive, don't ya think?"

"Yeah, I guess. Not totally convinced. Doesn't matter anyway. No one but you, Bobcat. Always." He brushed his fingers under her chin, turning it gently toward him as he lowered his mouth to hers.

A couple minutes later, she pulled away with a heavy sigh. "Oh, you do make me feel better about the world."

He grinned down at her, her words warming him all the way through. Her use of the 'L' word was still very infrequent but moments like this assured him that she loved him. "That is my primary goal in life."

"You're doing an outstanding job." She settled into his chest again, head resting on his shoulder. "Okay, so back to the other girlfriend—" he harrumphed and she laughed "—well, I'm sorry but I just don't have an adequate alternate description for Ruby Jetson."

"Ruby Jetson?" he said incredulously as he started to laugh. "That is rather indescribable. But please, don't waste your piano wire."

"No, I do realize that, trust me." She patted his chest. "But here's the weird thing that happened today. I went to the skating rink to pick up Cole for Dick—"

"I know that part from Dick. And you met Ruby there?" He smirked at her. "She did invite me skating for our second date. I didn't realize she'd still be there waiting for me."

"Yeah, well, apparently it's her favorite hangout. If you ever do want to get with her, then try Sunday night at the rink. That's where you can find her."

"Mental note...never go near that end of town on Sunday night."

"Your loss." She snickered. "So anyway, what I found out is that she was Maggie's best friend back in the day. Or, at least, Maggie was her best friend. I don't know if it was truly reciprocal but Cole remembered her from when he was a little kid and she'd visited Maggie in Riverside. He also said that Mrs. Tierney tried to notify her when Maggie died but she couldn't find her because they were looking for Della Pugh."

"Oh. Wow. Too bad Dick and Mac didn't know that when they were trying to prove Cole's paternity. They coulda just checked with Ruby."

"Well, maybe not because this is where it really gets weird." She straightened up, putting them eye-to-eye. "She had no idea it was Dick; Maggie never shared that information. She didn't know about the payoff either. She just thought some boy who Maggie wouldn't name had abandoned her and the family ran away in shame. You should have seen her reaction when she decided that me picking up Cole as a favor to his dad meant that you were the one."

Logan looked at her, uncomprehending for a moment before he shuddered. "Oh geez, really? She thought I was his dad? That must have set her off."

"It did. She had a little fit but I settled her down. Until I told her who his actual dad was." She looked serious again, maybe more than just serious... distressed?

"Why would she care if Dick's his dad? She got a weird kink for him too?"

"Well, she didn't really believe it because she claims Maggie hated him, because he was always mean to the boy she really liked. The boy she's always assumed was the dad." Veronica watched him with a meaningful look on her face, obviously saying something that she thought he should understand.

"Dick did have even more of a tendency back then to be...well...a dick, so I guess that's not surprising." He wasn't sure what she was trying to tell him.

"Yeah, not a completely outgrown tendency but back then, it was definitely worse. And one person in particular took the brunt of it. One person who is no longer among the living."

He was starting to feel slow when he finally grasped what she was trying to tell him. "You're talking about Cassidy? You're saying that Maggie liked Cassidy and Ruby thought _he_ got her pregnant?" He ran his hand across his head and down to clutch the back of his neck. "And now Ruby's surprised to hear that when Maggie got drunk, she actually slept with her crush's older brother and main tormentor. But really, I think the truth is more that there's no underestimating what beer goggles will convince a person to do. Especially someone as young and inexperienced as Maggie probably was. She might not even have been with it enough to realize who she was with at first." He looked away from her, cringing at the pictures in his mind. "I gotta say, talking about this whole thing kinda creeps me out. Dick and Maggie were what? Thirteen or fourteen at this party? They were just babies." He leaned his head against hers. "Jeez, I feel so old."

"Yeah, it does seem wrong, but Lilly was jumping you all the time around that same age and I never thought twice about it back then."

He closed his eyes, even more uncomfortable. Lilly was an acceptable topic of conversation between them, even a welcome one, but he didn't like Veronica's oh-so-casual mention of their sex life.

"And Cassidy was a year younger," she added. "That's even worse to contemplate."

"So why are we?" he asked, glad to move the conversation along, even if it was still in an unpleasant direction. "I mean, I get that Ruby assumed that all these years, but we know it's Dick. They got the paternity test. Obviously Ruby's been wrong. That shouldn't be a big shock."

"Unfortunately, that's not a forgone conclusion," Veronica said. She stood up and walked to the kitchen. "Paternity tests are best at ruling a potential father out. They can be very accurate but they aren't a hundred percent and that can be especially true when the potential fathers are related. All a match with Dick really tells us—" she opened the fridge and pulled two waters out "—is that potentially his brother could have been Cole's father too." She returned to the sofa and sat down next to Logan, handing a bottle of water to him.

"Veronica, geez, why are you buying into this craziness?"

"I'm not, I just think we need to be aware that things aren't as clear as we thought they were."

Logan stood to pace the room. "Do we though?"

"Huh?"

"Do we need to be aware? I mean, obviously we can't stop knowing what Ruby told you but that doesn't mean we need to consider it. If you just ignore this new Ruby nonsense, what makes this situation unclear?" Logan stopped pacing, looking down at Veronica who was frowning.

"The lack of clarity is all because of the Ruby nonsense but can we just ignore that? Dick doesn't remember having sex with Maggie. Maybe there's a reason for that."

"There is a reason. He was drunk off his ass. As far as I'm concerned, Ruby Jetson jumped to an erroneous conclusion. Maggie might not have told her friend but she did tell her parents and Dick's and, to me, that's a far more credible source than Ruby Jetson's wild imaginings. Shouldn't that be what matters here?"

"All I'm talking about is looking a little further into what Ruby told me. So we can know for sure." She took a drink of her water. "Getting to the truth. That's what I do. And it's truth about Beaver. Don't you think we should know if he's really the one?"

"Honestly, no, I think exactly the opposite."

"But, Logan—"

"No, hang on, please, just listen." He sat next to her again. "For argument's sake, let's assume it was Beaver and you can somehow prove it, which seems unlikely anyway. He's dead. It's not like turning up the truth gets his real dad for Cole. All it does is destroy the father-son link for Dick and Cole and give Cole two dead parents, one of whom is a known psychopath. Does that sound good for anyone?"

Veronica shook her head. "Well, no—"

"And if you can't _prove_ it's Beaver, but you pass on these speculations so you can explore the truth, as soon as this conversation leaves this room, you cast doubt on Dick as Cole's father. Say you bring it up and can't prove it, which seems like the likely outcome. Then Cole and Dick wonder forever. Are they really father and son? For Cole, is he really the son of a guy who murdered several people? It's bad enough to be the nephew of that guy. Luckily, it's been twelve years so it's not exactly a hot topic of conversation at Neptune High anymore. But do you want to be responsible for him having those doubts about Dick forever?"

"No, of course not," Veronica said in a low voice. "But I don't feel good about letting Cassidy Casablancas' son be out there without anyone knowing it—no one watching to make sure he's not taking after his dear old dad."

Logan put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. "Oh, Veronica, I'm sorry. That's what you're worrying about?"

She nodded slowly. "Maybe...kinda. Yeah."

"Do you worry that I'm going to become abusive? Maybe murder someone who crosses me? Is that what you wonder about when we talk about kids? Maybe that's what would trigger me to become Aaron?"

She looked at him, eyes wide. "Logan, no, of course not. You would never be like Aaron. I don't think that at all."

He kissed her forehead. "Okay, thanks, I appreciate that. So, why would you expect that of Cole, even if he was Cassidy's kid?"

"I don't, exactly. It's just..." She sagged against him. "The possibility of Cassidy, and Maggie, together, and a kid coming out of that...it made me think about what he did to me. I try not to—you know that—I pretty much avoid that topic at all costs—even in my own head—but this made me think, what if chlamydia hadn't been his only parting gift? That could have happened. I could be the one raising his kid."

"Yeah, but that didn't happen." He kissed her again. "And it's unlikely that he was with Maggie. That would require so much...conspiring. If they were together and Maggie liked him, why would she name Dick instead? There's no logic to that. So, please don't let the sight of Cole make you think of painful things. Accept that he's Dick's kid, and he makes Dick a better person, and then think about the life we're building, and they're building, and let yourself be happy with that. Don't dwell on the worst case 'might have beens'. Don't let Cassidy impact your life anymore."

Veronica looked up at him, nodding as she tucked herself more tightly against him. "You're right. I won't talk to anyone else about Ruby's assumptions and I'm not gonna think about Cassidy. It doesn't do anyone any good and you're right, I do have a lot more important things in my life. Every minute I give him is wasted."

"Now you sound like the psychology major you became," Logan said with a laugh. "I'm gonna have to write about this day in my feelings journal. You said 'you're right' twice in one conversation and I persuaded you to my point of view in record time. I have to record this day for posterity."

She scoffed loudly, rolling her eyes violently, and he laughed again, then stood up, tugging her after him. "I can do that later though. Right now, let's take this dog out and run her 'til she drops. Then we'll spend the rest of this day the way we'd originally planned."

"Naked?" she asked with a lascivious grin.

"Yes, exactly."


	6. Chapter 6

Logan dabbed the last remnants of shaving cream off his face, peering first one way and then the other, making sure he hadn't missed any spots. He'd tried to concentrate on the task at hand but he was too preoccupied with the events of the previous night to give it his full attention.

Since Veronica's accidental meeting with Ruby Jetson, she'd kept to their agreement and said nothing to anyone else about Maggie's crush on Beaver and the questions that could arise from that. However, it was clear she hadn't put the information, or at least the thought of Beaver, out of her mind.

For the first couple weeks after the encounter with Ruby, she woke him every night, thrashing and moaning in her sleep. She wouldn't wake up; she'd just toss and turn and cry out unintelligibly and he'd wrap his arms around her and whisper things that he hoped were calming until she settled down in his arms. He'd tried asking her about it on the first morning after and she'd claimed no recollection of any bad dreams. He'd asked casually how she'd slept on a few other mornings and still, nothing. Logan wasn't sure if he believed her or not. She seemed truthful but he knew she could be an outstanding liar when she felt the need. The thing was, she was fine during the day. She didn't seem like she was preoccupied with whatever thoughts were disturbing her sleep. He was nearly at his wit's end as to what he should do when she had a calm night, and then another.

Logan was enjoying his fifth night of uninterrupted sleep when he was startled awake by Veronica sitting up, crying out, 'Stay back', with her hands out in front of her and eyes wide open. At first, he thought she was awake and warning off an intruder and he leapt up, sleep still hanging on him but ready to do battle. When he realized there was no one there, he shook himself fully awake and turned back to her. She was crying and he rushed frantically around the bed to pull her into his arms.

"Veronica, what's wrong?" She was stiff against him at first as he rocked her and he realized she was still asleep. "Babe, please. Wake up." After a few moments, he felt her sag into him. "Veronica, please wake up."

"Logan?" He pulled back to look at her. Her cheeks were wet and her eyes still full of tears but he could see comprehension in them again instead of the blind stare that had terrified him. "Logan, what's wrong?"

He tugged her back into his arms again, still rocking her as he drew in deep breaths. "I think that gets to be my question."

"I had a bad dream." Her voice was muffled against his chest. "I'm okay, Logan, turn me loose." He released her but continued to run his hands up and down her arms.

"Are you finally going to tell me what you've been dreaming about?" he asked softly.

She sighed, and then leaned her forehead against his chest. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. Just tell me what's happening."

"Just a bad dream," she said, but her voice lilted up at the end like she was asking a question, or maybe like she was seeing if he'd buy that answer.

"Veronica." He leaned her back against her pillows, then climbed over her to crawl into bed next to her, tucking her into the crook of his arm. "Just tell me what's going on. You've woke me up every night for almost two weeks and it's been better for a few days but tonight was the worst yet. Can't you please just trust me enough to tell me what's going on?"

"I do." She rolled toward him, laying her hand on his chest. "I do trust you. I just have a natural tendency to cover up anything that makes me look vulnerable. And I know you don't want me dwelling on Cassidy. I just didn't want to upset you."

He smoothed her hair behind her ear. "If I thought it would work, I'd be bugging you to go talk to someone about him—see if you can get him out of your head once and for all. Do you really think I'm gonna be indifferent to you having nightmares every night?"

"No, of course not. I just hoped that I wasn't disturbing you. You asked a couple times at the beginning and then stopped so I thought maybe..."

"Maybe you were keeping the demons inside? Nope. So now that you know they're getting out anyway, why don't you tell me what's happening and maybe we can do something to get the bad guy out of your head." He kissed her temple. "For the record, I do think a counselor could be helpful too, but if you're against that, please let me try to help you."

She sighed. "I've done some of that before. Part of my Psych major included some counseling sessions. I just didn't want to talk about him. I stuck with abandonment issues." She smiled up at him ruefully. "It's handy to have multiple issues to choose from."

He frowned at her. "Deflecting much?"

"Sorry." She wriggled more tightly into his side. "Okay, yes, talking to Ruby seems to have let Cassidy out of the soundproof box I'd wedged him into a decade ago and he's been very chatty since. I haven't been able to block him again." She sighed again. "Cassidy in my head isn't a very nice guy. At least in real life he pretended most of the time."

"He's just your imagination. Punch him in the face and walk away."

"Ah, but see, I've been doing you one better." She looked up at him. "I shoot him. Pretty much every night."

Under her close scrutiny, Logan struggled to keep the shock from showing on his face. "Huh. I wasn't expecting that. From the sounds you make, I thought he was getting the upper hand."

"No, not physically. Cassidy in my dreams is your typical ninety-eight pound weakling but he knows all the exact things to say to push all my most sensitive buttons." She took in a deep breath. "Sometimes you're there, just like you were, that night on the roof of the Grand. I get his gun and you tell me I'm not a killer and then I shoot him anyway. And I'm happy I shot him. But he either keeps talking or he turns into someone else lying there on the ground."

"Oh, Veronica."

"Yeah, sometimes he turns into you, sometimes Cole, or Dick. He's been all kinds of people. Everyone I've ever been intimidated by...Mercer, Liam Fitzpatrick, Clarence Wiedman, Cobb, Aaron, Gory. Other people too. He was Duncan a couple times, both Lamb brothers. Piz. Jake and Lianne and Celeste. Weevil. A guy I dated for a while at Stanford. A terrible law school professor. Even Wallace and my dad."

"I think that's more people than nights," Logan said, his mouth against her temple.

"Sometimes they morph. Cassidy to Duncan to Jake to Lianne."

That chain of victims seemed to have a logical progression to Logan but he wasn't sure if she wanted to hear his thoughts. "Do you have any ideas about why these people?" he asked instead.

"Well, I've realized that everyone who has made an appearance has, at the least, disappointed me at one time or another. The fact that Mac hasn't shown up supports that theory. Cole hasn't disappointed me but I think my subconscious is still linking him to Cassidy, because of what Ruby said. Or maybe it's just Dick. I don't know. Cole's the only one who's never done anything himself to deserve being in this group."

That wasn't what he'd expected to hear. "I get most of those names being included in that description but your dad? And Wallace?"

She smiled up at him but her eyes were sad. "Nobody's perfect, Logan, even my dad. Ssh, don't tell him I told you. The truth is, I tend to hold the highest standards for the people I love the most. Wallace dodges that most of the time but you and Dad? I've had very unreasonable expectations of both of you in the past. You—" she reached up and trailed her fingers down his face "—you've always gotten the brunt of it. I think—God, I hope—I'm doing better these days though."

He was still reeling from 'the people I love the most' but he tried to stay on track. "You are. You haven't accused me of murder in probably twelve years." She humphed softly and snuggled closer.

"It sounds funny when you say it like that but the fact that it's an absolutely factual statement isn't amusing at all."

"We were all struggling back then, Veronica. It's the past."

"I didn't need to make your struggles so much harder. It aggravates me when I think about the standards I required from you when I didn't even require that Duncan have the decency not to rape me."

Logan jerked at her matter-of-fact tone for words he'd never expected to hear her say. This had been a topic he had never tried to address after the day she told him she'd been with Duncan at Shelley's party so she hadn't been raped. He'd always thought she was delusional with that attitude but he would never say a word to suggest that.

"Umm, when did you come to that conclusion?" he asked cautiously.

"Stanford. I was working on a project for a class, kind of a peer counseling thing. Most of it was pretty easy stuff. A lot of talking through changes in majors, like how to tell your parents when you've been saying your whole life you're gonna be a doctor and now you want to switch to Econ. Other stuff too, roommate issues, sometimes relationship stuff, which I hated since I knew I sucked at that." She ducked her head into his side. "One day, two sorority girls came in to talk through a disagreement. One was trying to get the other to report that she'd been raped. Went to a party, woke up in her ex-boyfriend's bed. She didn't remember a thing. She swore she hadn't had anything but soda; she was supposed to be the designated driver that night. When she got finally got home, the friend dragged her to the campus clinic to get tested for anything that would have knocked her out. Sure enough...GHB."

"Oh, God."

"I know, right? They went to the boyfriend, sorry, ex-boyfriend, accused him of drugging her. He claimed he didn't know what she was talking about, sure, she was drunk and slutty, but that wasn't his fault, why would he say no to her coming on to him?" Veronica was trembling against him and Logan stroked her back gently. "I wasn't supposed to make a decision for them, I was just supposed to be facilitating their conversation. 'Jane, Mary is feeling concerned that you may have been assaulted and she wants you to seek help from the authorities.' 'Mary, Jane is feeling overwhelmed by the idea of telling the world that she had sex with her ex while under the influence of some intoxicant, knowing that most people are going to blame her.' It was not fun."

"I can see why." Logan kissed the top of her head. "So this whole discussion made you reconsider what had happened to you?" He felt her nod against his chest.

"I didn't have the capacity to say yes that night. And I never would have if he'd told me that he thought we were brother and sister. Even if I'd been perfectly sober, the secret he was keeping was a vital detail. And then he ran off and left me there unconscious. When I look at it from that perspective, he practically served me up to Cassidy on a silver platter."

A wave of nausea rolled over Logan. "I'm so sorry, Veronica."

"Thanks, but what I'm sorriest about is that I went back to him trying to make that night just a normal moment in our story of true love. I was trying to create an acceptable narrative in my own head and even though I realized pretty quickly that he was never going to be 'the one', being with him again made the night at Shelley's just another night. Until later, when I finally realized that it hadn't been."

She paused, face still hidden against his chest. Logan could feel her heart pounding and he was sure she could feel his as well.

"Anyway, I don't really think about any of this if I can avoid it but Cassidy in my sleep hasn't been letting it go." She kissed his chest, then straightened and stretched away, wriggling back to recline next to him, hands clasped over her stomach. "But we've chased him away for now and I'm not wasting any more time on him, not tonight at least, not if I can help it."

Logan rolled onto his side and covered her hands with his. "I still say, punch him in the face. Changes up the routine of the dream so maybe you can get the upper hand. Shooting him isn't working but the Beaver I knew wouldn't have been able to take a punch. Throw him off and maybe he'll lose his power."

"Alter the dream, change the outcome. It's worth a try. I've had these dreams so many times that I do usually realize I'm dreaming. Maybe I can make this work."

He nuzzled into her neck. "You're Veronica Mars. You can do anything."

"I hope you're right." She straightened her fingers, then wrapped them around his hand before pulling it up to rest on her breast. "So, any chance you'll give me some other things to concentrate on before we go back to sleep?"

He flattened his hand, cupping her breast and stroking his thumb over the nipple. "I think there's every chance that I can come up with lots of ways to distract you." He pinched the hardened nub gently, then trailed his hand down to the bottom of her sleep shirt.

"I knew I could count on you."

* * *

Logan rapped on the front door to Dick's, then opened it and pressed Veronica inside ahead of him. Cole slid into the hallway in his socks, running for the door but he scrambled to a halt, grinning at the sight of Logan and Veronica already inside.

"Guys! You're here!" He threw his arms around both of them. "Thanks for coming!"

"We couldn't miss your first birthday," Veronica said with a grin. "I've been checking up on traditions for first birthdays and I'm dying to see you eat the little birthday cake all on your own. From the videos I watched, there's usually quite a mess."

Cole raised his eyebrows at Logan, slid his arm around Veronica's shoulders, and looked down at her seriously. "Yeah, hate to tell ya, but you missed that one a while ago. By fourteen, I can usually find my mouth without smearing the food around on my face first." He grinned at her. "And, unfortunately, we didn't get a separate little cake so I'll have to just eat a regular slice like everyone else."

"Oh, ye of little faith," she grinned back at him, then shrugged away, turning to Logan who held open the large bag he was carrying. Her eyes met his, sparkling with glee, and he was amazed at the difference a few hours could make. She reached into the bag and then swiveled back to Cole with her loot.

"Aunt Veronica and Uncle Logan have you covered," she said and handed him a small pink bakery box.

"Oh, no way, you got me my own personal cake," Cole said, throwing his head back laughing. He held the box to one side, hugging Veronica with his free arm. "Thank you guys so much." He shuffled over a halfstep and hugged Logan also. "This is so funny. I might even eat it with my hands if you really want me too."

"I absolutely insist," Veronica said, then she walked past him into the open living area of the beach house. Logan and Cole shook their heads at each other and followed her.

Dick and Mac and Mrs. Tierney were all inside, the women at the table with drinks and chips and Dick in the kitchen shaping hamburger patties.

"Logan and Veronica brought me my own birthday cake," Cole announced, pulling out a blue-frosted cake with a large '1' decorating the top. "She's hoping for a reenactment of me eating my first birthday cake when I turned one."

"Oh, I hated that idea," Mrs. Tierney said, "but Maggie insisted. But the joke was on her, and on you too, young lady, because Cole was a meticulous eater as a child. I had to wipe his mouth between bites of baby food. He would no more smear cake all over than I would. He grabbed one handful of the cake she put in front of him and had a meltdown. He wouldn't put it in his mouth no matter how much she coaxed and then he just sat in his high chair holding out his gooey hand until we cleaned him up."

"Oh man," Veronica said with a cheeky grin, "I'm disappointed. I was really looking forward to the show."

"I guess you're going to have to wait 'til your own baby's first birthday," Mrs. Tierney said and Logan froze. He rolled his eyes to Dick who was looking at Veronica and Mrs. Tierney with frank interest, clearly ready for a blowup.

"I guess we'll just have to see, won't we?" Veronica said mildly and walked to the refrigerator. Stunned, Logan looked back and forth between Mac and Dick who both looked as shocked as he probably did. Veronica turned back from the fridge with a Skist and a Coke in her hands and he again found himself trying to control his face. "So, if we're not doing cake smashing stuff, what's on tap for this celebration?"

Logan listened to Cole outlining the day's schedule, friends arriving in another hour or so, barbeque, beach, movies later on the blow-up outdoor big screen. He moved to the kitchen to unload the bag full of ice cream into the freezer while Cole and the women talked.

"So, Dude, sounds like you've got plans for the night," Dick said in a low voice when Logan finished his task and moved next to him at the counter.

"Huh?"

"You gotta go home and knock her up before she changes her mind," Dick said and Logan gaped at him.

"What?"

"You heard her. The Veronica Mars of old would've cut a bitch who suggested motherhood. This one was practically placid. It's time." He elbowed Logan. "You can leave early so you can get at it. Cole won't mind."

Logan groaned and leaned on the counter, resting his head in his hands. "Dick, shut up."

"I'm telling ya, Dude, don't waste any time. I'm not getting any younger."

Logan raised his head, looking at Dick through eyes squinted in confusion. "What in the _hell_ are you trying to say now?"

"I missed all that beginning stuff with Cole. The two of you are gonna be my only chance to see what it was like. I wanna be young enough to enjoy it."

"We're not having a kid so you can play uncle. If you want another chance, get someone else pregnant. Aren't you and Mac—" he raised his eyebrows and tilted his head toward the group at the table "—you know..."

"No," Dick said indignantly and the rest of the group looked over at them at his raised voice, then returned to chatting. "No," Dick repeated, in a lower voice. "She's my friend and she's done a ton for both Cole and me. I'm not screwing that up."

"I'm getting whiplash from your wild fluctuations in maturity levels," Logan muttered and Dick snorted. "Keep your theories on my chances at impending fatherhood to yourself, got it?"

"Aye aye, sir," Dick said, tipping a finger off his eyebrow at him. "But I'm telling ya, it's time." Logan shook his head and walked over to the table to sit next to Veronica. She scooted her chair closer to him with a smile, leaning into him, and he spent the rest of the conversation only responding when directly addressed, lost in what Dick had made him think about.

* * *

Logan lay in bed, hands linked behind his head, staring at the ceiling. When the bathroom door opened, he closed his eyes against the momentary glare, but even after Veronica snapped the light off, he kept them closed, enjoying the steamy, fragrant air that had escaped the room. He drew in a deep breath, relishing the scent of Veronica's shampoo and body wash.

"Sleeping already?" The covers flung back next to him and he opened his eyes enough to watch Veronica drop her towel on the floor and slip into bed, lying on her side next to him. She crossed an arm over his chest and rested her head on his shoulder, stretching the other arm up and stroking his temple. She draped her leg over his and scooted in until she was pressed tightly against his hip. "Sleeping?" she repeated, in a whisper this time.

"If I had been, I certainly wouldn't be now," he whispered back, lowering his arms to wrap one around her while he traced the other hand down her warm, still damp skin, shoulder, arm, hip, leg.

"Sorry, I can move if you want," she said, a teasing lilt in her voice. She flattened her palm on his chest, like she was going to push away and he laughed and pressed her hand against him.

"Not necessary. It's too late now." He continued to smooth his hand along her skin. "Warm, naked Veronica isn't a bad way to wake up anyway, if I had been asleep." He nosed into her hair. "Cold, wet Veronica hair...it's a little more jarring."

She lifted her head, looking remorseful. "I'm sorry, I didn't think—"

"Oh no, don't think you're getting away." He locked his arms around her. "The wet hair might have been a little unnerving if I had been asleep, but I wasn't, and now it's what's keeping me from catching on fire from the hotness of the warm, naked parts."

She ducked her face into his chest, laughing with a decidedly unsexy snort. "Now that's quite an impressive line," she said.

"Nuh uh. You're hot enough to combust. Trust me. I've had considerable training with combustible materials."

She continued to laugh as she shifted to lie on top of him, her left arm crooked and her chin resting in her hand. "Yeah, jet fuel. This conversation has officially turned ridiculous."

"Your opinion," Logan said, repositioning his hands low on her back to accommodate her new location to his best advantage.

"Yes, and I'm right. So, I have a question."

"Yes, I'll have sex with you."

She rolled her eyes. "Like _that_ was ever a question. No, I wanna know what was up with Dick today."

He raised his eyebrows, trying to look casual. "It was his kid's first birthday since Dick learned he exists. He was excited. Seems understandable to me."

"That part is understandable but that's not what I was talking about. And I'm pretty sure you know that." She cocked her head to the side, eyes narrowed. "He was giving me weird looks all day. Like he knew something I didn't. You've gotta know how unsettling that thought is." Her eyebrows raised suddenly—the lightbulb over her head practically visible—then crinkled down into an irritated 'v'. "Hang on. You're not making some plan to put me on the spot in front of a crowd, are you?"

He was now legitimately confused. Dick had harassed him all day long about kids but he was hoping that he wouldn't have to confess that. "I don't think so." He ran her words over in his head, trying to understand what she was insinuating, and then gasped. "Oh, wait! You thought...? No, no, no. A public proposal? Oh my God, no!"

Her brow smoothed for a moment, then wrinkled again. "You don't need to sound quite so horrified at the idea. I'm obviously in no hurry either but jeez. Way to make a girl feel confident about the relationship." She tried to roll off him but he wrapped his arms around her, holding her firmly in place.

"You're not going anywhere, Bobcat. That didn't come out right. I'd marry you tomorrow if I thought you were remotely interested but I would never risk asking you in public. Too much opportunity for public humiliation when you shoot me down."

"Why do you assume I'd shoot you down?" she asked. She'd stopped pulling away and was relaxed on top of him again.

"Maybe because you've always said you'd never get married?" he replied. "I do listen when you speak, and your message has always been clear. Like Rhett Butler, you're not the marrying kind."

"When was the last time you heard me say that?"

He glanced away from her, eyes on the ceiling as he searched his memory. "Well, I'm not actually sure. I guess it's just one of those things about you...like blonde hair and blue eyes. You don't need to keep telling me. I already know."

"Hmm. Well, it is possible that I might have changed my mind in the last decade."

Logan looked back down at her but she was hiding her face against his chest. "Yeah, it's possible but did you?" He moved his hand from her back and pressed his fingers against her chin, gently forcing her to look at him. "Stop with the obscure statements and just speak in understandable sentences please."

She sighed until he was certain that there could be no more air in her lungs, then she took a long breath in, and sighed out again. "Veronica? Can you talk to me about this?"

Her voice was tiny. "I don't really want to. Can't you just draw your own conclusions?"

He laughed. "No, I cannot. That way madness lies."

She twisted her chin out of his grasp, hiding again against his chest. "I'm glad you find my struggles amusing."

"That's not what's happening here. I love you, Veronica. I never want you to struggle if I can do anything about it."

"I love you, too," she grumbled and the grudging tone in her voice made him laugh again even as the rarely heard words echoed in his ears.

"You sound like that fact pisses you off," he said, trying to stay cool.

Her head popped up and she fixed him with a hard look. "That's not true."

Her fierce delivery of a declaration of love made his chest feel tight. "Okay then." He rocked his head forward to kiss her forehead. "So, here's the thing. My Veronica Mars-mind reading device has been stuck on back order for the last seventeen years—" She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "—so I'm not always sure that I know what you're thinking. I'm gonna give it a try but I need you to help me if I'm going down the wrong path."

She rolled her eyes again, shaking her head, but she smiled. "I'll make it easier on you. I do think about marriage a little differently that I did when I was nineteen."

"Okay." He drawled the word out slowly.

"I think that it might be a good thing...with the right person."

"Okay." He tucked her hair behind her ear. "Here I go, out on a limb, guessing that you're saying I might be the right person."

"Logan," she said in a chiding tone, "do you really not know that you're the only person?"

His breath hitched, before he could stop himself, but he managed to stop the face-splitting grin that threatened. His cheeks were practically burning as he fought to keep a cool demeanor. At the rate things were going, he was starting to have serious doubts about his poker face. "I've been pretty sure for a while that we're both in this for the duration but marriage? I never really let myself think too much about that."

"I really haven't either, but when the subject comes up, I don't feel like screaming and running away anymore. That's progress, right?" She looked down at him and chuckled, laying a hand against his face and stroking her thumb across his cheek. "The thing I don't like thinking about now is how I would get along without you."

"You don't need to think about that anyway. That's never gonna happen."

"You can't know that. You're saying you're never going to get tired of me, or pissed at me, or stop loving me? You can't know that, Logan." She was still stroking his face and he reached up to catch her hand in his, pulling it to his lips for a kiss, then rested their joined hands against his chest.

"I am never going to stop loving you, Veronica. I've been in love with you for seventeen years and for more than half of them, I had no hope that I was ever going to even see you again. I tried to stop loving you and I couldn't. Now that I've got you back, why would I stop now?"

"Because I piss you off?"

"You think I wasn't pissed when I figured out you'd run away and didn't plan to come back?" He lifted his head and kissed her nose. "Didn't change anything."

"Hmm." She smirked down at him. "So, if a proposal wasn't what Dick was being weird about, what was it?"

"Do you hear yourself? When has Dick needed something to be weird about?"

"Good point, although I think you're avoiding something." Her eyes narrowed again, studying him. He was already exhausted from the marriage conversation, and his efforts all day long to keep from spilling all his feelings into her lap for in depth, Veronica Mars-level scrutiny. He was absolutely not prepared for a conversation about children. He brushed a soft kiss across her lips, then wrapped both arms around her and flipped them over. She gave a little shriek and then a giggle as he ducked down to nibble along her collarbones.

"Not avoiding, but done talking. Got better things to do with the rest of the night."


	7. Chapter 7

_A bit of a warning - there is brief mention of child molestation in this chapter._

* * *

Logan trudged up to Dick's deck, surfboard under his arm. "Look, you knew I'd only have about an hour to surf this morning. Quit bitchin'."

"I know, I know. I just wish you had more time. You remember back when we'd skip school on our birthdays and surf and drink all day?" Dick's voice was wistful.

"Yeah, I remember—" Logan laughed and shook his head. "—and it's probably a good thing that your teenage son is already at school and not here to hear you reminiscing about that kind of behavior. But that's not happening today. I've gotta get cleaned up and get to the base. Unfortunately, the U.S. Navy doesn't give you a free day off just because it's your birthday."

"I guess I should count myself lucky that Ronnie let you out early this morning so we could at least surf a little before you had to go to work." Dick leaned his board against the house. "She made it very clear that there would be no party tonight. 'You can have him in the morning, Dick'," he singsonged in a high-pitched voice, "'but he's mine after work'. She gets you every day; I don't know why she's being so stingy on your birthday. Not even a party."

"Party's on Saturday, Dick," Logan said, grinning at Dick's petulant face. "You can wait a couple of days." He unzipped his wet suit and shrugged out of it. "I'm gonna take a quick shower and head to work. I'm glad we got to do this today. It _is_ like old times." He headed inside to clean up and get ready for work.

Twenty minutes later, Logan walked into the kitchen. "All right, Dick, I'm out."

Dick turned away from the counter with a travel mug. "Coffee to go, dear?"

Logan laughed. "Yes, actually, honey, that would be great." He leaned against the kitchen island as Dick turned back to the coffee maker and began to fill the mug.

"So, dude, can I get you to ask Veronica to do something for me?"

Logan scrunched his face up in confusion. "What? Why do you need me to ask Veronica to help you? One, you can ask her yourself, and two, I thought you had Mac for that kinda stuff."

"I don't want to ask Mac for this."

"I still don't get it."

Dick turned back toward him with the filled mug. "Do you remember last week when Mrs. Tierney brought Cole the birthday card from an old friend of Maggie's?"

Logan took the mug. "Um, maybe? She had cards from a few different people, aunts, uncles, neighbors. I wasn't really paying attention. _Someone_ had distracted me earlier with talk of knocking up my girlfriend so I wasn't paying much attention to things like birthday cards."

Dick cackled. "Oh yeah...so...what happened? Are we gonna hear the pitter patter of tiny Echolls feet in a year or so?"

"No, it's too soon. We're starting to talk about the future but not really any specific talk of kids yet. So lay off, dude."

"I guess," Dick grumbled, "but don't make me wait on this for too long. I wasn't kidding about not wanting to be too old to enjoy your kids. They're gonna love their Uncle Dick." Logan snorted, shaking his head. "So, anyway, about the friend of Maggie's. I want to get a background check done. Can you get Ronnie to help me?"

"Sorry, still lost. You want a background check on someone who sent your kid a birthday card? Why?"

Dick grimaced. "So, here's the thing. It's not just a friend. He was Maggie's boyfriend."

Logan looked at him, startled. "Dude, sorry, but she's dead. The guy's not gonna be Cole's step-dad. Why do you need a background check?" Logan rubbed the bridge of his nose. "And, again, isn't this why you've got Mac?"

"Okay, it's like this. Cole was not happy about that card. Mrs. Tierney seemed to think the guy was great; from what she said, it sounded like she thought Maggie might have married the guy if she hadn't...you know...died. But Cole, he was acting kinda weird after he opened the card. It made me wonder about the guy. I just wanted to get some more information about him." Dick brushed past Logan, moving to the couch and dropping onto it. Logan followed and stood next to the couch, looking down at Dick.

"What's going on, Dick? What are you worried about?"

"It's just that Cole seems to get along with everyone, but this guy, he obviously had some problem with him. I just..." Dick squirmed on the couch. "Look, I just don't want to overlook any signs. You know, no one ever paid any attention to Cassidy. Maybe if they had, they'd have known that asshole was hurting him and could have done something for him before he...did what he did. I'm not gonna let that happen to my kid."

Logan dropped on the couch next to Dick, stunned. "You think Maggie's boyfriend—" his voice dropped to a husky whisper "—molested Cole?"

"No, no...I don't know. Not likely. I'm sure I'm over-reacting. I just...I just want to be sure and find out a little more about this guy. But, the thing is, I don't really want to involve Mac. Not after how Cassidy hurt her."

Logan sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face, then through his hair. "So, Cole didn't say anything that would make you suspect this, right? You're just not used to him not liking everyone so you want to look into the guy. Is that right?"

"Yeah," Dick answered. "That's it." He turned toward Logan. "I'm being stupid, right?"

"Probably, but it's cool. But I'm not asking Veronica." He pushed himself off the couch.

"Dude. Why not?"

"Dick, Cassidy hurt Mac, yes, but if you recall, he was going to kill Veronica before I got to the roof. And then he tried to murder her father right in front of her." _Not to mention a few other things that I'm not talking to you about._ She thought for twelve long hours that he had. It's only because Lamb the First was as big an asshole as Lamb the Second that Keith lived through that. Veronica's got as much reason as Mac, maybe more, to not need any reminders of Cassidy." Logan turned and headed toward the door.

"What am I supposed to do then?" Dick said, following him.

"You're coming to my party at Keith's on Saturday. We can talk to Keith then. He can look into this guy for you and we don't have to bother either of the girls. Okay?" Logan grabbed his bag and reached for the doorknob. "The guy's not coming around here anytime soon, right?"

"I'm not really expecting him to come around at all. I just want to see if there's anything weird about him. So, yeah, this can wait until I can talk to Mr. Mars on Saturday." Dick huffed out a deep breath, relief on his face. "Thanks, man. I appreciate you helping me out."

"No problem, dude. And even though you don't expect to find anything on this guy, it's a good thing, what you're doing. Paying attention and putting your kid's well-being first." Logan grinned and clapped Dick on the shoulder. "Good job, man. I don't know how you're gonna feel about this, but...I'm proud of you. You're doing a great job. Cole's lucky to have you."

Dick's cheeks turned pink and he looked down at his bare feet for a moment, but when he looked up at Logan, he was grinning. "Thanks, bro. That means a lot. Happy birthday."

* * *

Friday morning, Veronica sat in her office, yawning as she studied a series of photographs. She'd taken Logan out for birthday dinner the night before and, once they made it home, they'd been up pretty late with their at-home celebratory activities. She finished selecting the photos to use in her report and pushed the rest of the pictures back into a manila envelope when the front door to Mars Investigations opened. She leaned forward over her desk to peer into the lobby, grinning at the sight of her lunch date.

"Why, Mr. Fennell, hello. Are we enjoying a student-free day?"

Wallace made his way into her office and dropped into the client chair in front of her desk. "Hey, Vee. It was still a work day, even if the kids got it off. Curriculum planning with the individual departments in the morning and the department heads are meeting in the afternoon. I, as a lowly junior member of the faculty, am now free for the day and available for lunch with my BFF."

Veronica clapped her hands in exaggerated excitement. "Yay for being lowly!" He chuckled and shook his head.

"Yeah, well, I certainly don't mind having the afternoon off," he said. "So, where are we going?"

"Your choice—Thai or Greek."

"Those are my only choices?"

"Well, there's always Italian. It's like the default option," Veronica added with a laugh. "I just figured you'd tell me that was boring."

"It is," he said, nodding. "Let's do Thai. I love that peanut butter salad dressing."

"Ooh, yeah, I love that stuff too. Let's go." Veronica locked her computer and pulled her bag out of her desk drawer, then walked around the desk to lead Wallace into the lobby. "Hey, Daddio, going to lunch," she called toward Keith's office.

"Well, Wallace, this is a surprise. Haven't seen much of you lately." Keith came to the door of his office and leaned against the jamb.

"Busy at work, midterms to write, then midterms to grade. Anyone who tells you that teachers have a cake job because they work 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM and have summers off doesn't know what they're talking about."

"Boo freakin' hoo," Veronica said, rubbing her thumb and forefinger together. "Cue the world's tiniest violin. Now, come on, let's go to lunch. Your sad life is making me hungry."

Keith laughed. "Don't blame that on Wallace. That's your state of being." He looked at Wallace. "You coming over tomorrow?"

Veronica stiffened, feeling guilty as she glanced between her dad and Wallace. "Umm, I forgot to mention it to him." She waved her hand at Wallace, shooing him toward the door. "We can talk about it at lunch." Wallace opened the front door to the office, motioning her through. "See ya later, Dad."

* * *

Wallace was keeping score in his head. How many pointless topics could Veronica bring up before she got to the one that had made her look so uncomfortable back in her office? He knew what was probably happening the next day—he knew the date. He just wondered how she was going to get out of inviting him to Logan's birthday celebration now that Keith had spilled the beans.

"So, Wallace, about tomorrow..."

 _Apparently six pointless topics._

"Yeah, Supafly? What's happening tomorrow?" Adult Veronica was as good at spinning a story for a mark as she'd been when they were kids, but he was as good now at reading the shifts in her eyes, and the almost imperceptible eyebrow twitches, as he had ever been.

"Well, yesterday was Logan's birthday, finally twenty-nine like the rest of us. We're gonna grill out at Dad's tomorrow. Steak, salads, corn on the cob. I'm making a cake. It's no big thing. Just me and Logan, Dad, Mac, Dick and Cole, Cliff said he'd try to make it. If you want to come by, you're always welcome, but I know it's really short notice and you've probably got plans. If you can't make it, don't worry."

Wallace snorted a humorless laugh. "Thanks for the enticing invitation. Now you can tell your dad you invited me with a clear conscience."

The hurt look on her face seemed real. Sometimes even he couldn't read her. "Wallace, I knew you wouldn't want to go; that's why I hadn't mentioned it. I'm all too aware that you don't like Logan. I didn't see the point of making you come up with some excuse."

"Oh, this is about my feelings? Really?"

"It's true. You don't like Logan, and you don't like me with Logan, so a party to celebrate his birth didn't seem like something you'd be all that interested in. I thought I was doing you a favor." She looked away from him, peering down at her salad, picking through the greens and shoving peanuts to the side with her fork before picking them up and popping them into her mouth. The disgruntled pout on her face as she plundered the salad for the tasty bits made him want to laugh. Instead, he went with the cutting remark, hoping to get her attention.

"You're one of the smartest people I've ever met, why ya gotta be such a dumbass about Logan?"

Her head popped up from her intent study of her salad, her mouth gaping like a fish, before she fixed him with an angry glare.

"You don't even know him. Where do you—"

"Whose fault is that, Veronica?"

She snapped her mouth closed but continued to glare.

"Logan and I had limited contact in high school, and at Hearst, in spite of the fact that I was your best friend, Veronica, and he was your boyfriend. When we did interact, except that first time—" he smirked "—I usually thought he seemed like an okay guy. But you did your best to keep him separate from me, and Mac, and your dad. That made it seem like there was something you didn't want us to see about him, maybe something bad."

"It wasn't like that," she said in a soft voice, staring at the salad again.

"Yeah, probably not, but what was I supposed to think? So, when you guys would break up, I always thought it was for the best. Until you'd go back with him. The high drama merry-go-round didn't give me a lot of confidence in the relationship. And then, after the thing with Piz...yeah, I was super pissed about that. But you never got back with him after that and I thought we were done with him."

She huffed a sigh. "I know, I know. Needing...honestly anyone...it made me feel weak. I never wanted you guys to know that he was so important to me. I didn't really want to admit it to myself."

Wallace reached out and covered her hand with his, smiling at her gently. "Look at you. Talking about feelings."

She smiled back at him, looking self-conscious. "I do have 'em."

"I know that. I've always known that, Miss Marshmallow. And I also know part of this is my own fault. When you first came home, I was not happy that the one thing that got you back here was Logan. We'd been trying to get you to come visit for ages and you never had time."

"Wallace, I was in law school. It's kinda a full time commitment."

"And then you dumped my buddy, Piz, to run back to Logan..."

"Piz dumped me," she protested, but he snorted and held his hand up to stop her.

"Nuh uh. Don't even try to go there, Supafly. We both know you're full of it. Yes, you made the poor sap say the words, but the minute you came back here to help Logan, we all knew you were done with Piz."

"Wallace—"

"Veronica."

She sighed heavily. "Yeah, it's likely that what you're saying is true. But Wallace, you can't blame that on Logan." This time, she reached across the table and took his hand. "Look, I shouldn't have been with Piz in the first place, either time. It was easy to be with him, he never really had any expectations, and that worked out just right for me because I never really made any effort."

Veronica covered her eyes with her free hand. "I know this is gonna make me sound like a creep, but it's very possible that I would have just stayed with Piz if things hadn't happened like they did. But it wouldn't have been because I loved him and he was the perfect guy for me. It would have been because it was easier to stay with him than it was to do something else. Like I said, he never made very many demands on me so having someone to help pay New York City rent can offset a lot of negatives. I was hardly home anyway and that wouldn't have changed if I'd gone to work for Truman-Mann. Honestly, I'd have even more reason to never be home. A seventy hour work week is a pretty light load for a new associate in New York. I think we all know I wouldn't have stuck with a light load. I would have never been home."

Wallace pulled her hand away from her eyes and she peeked up at him, looking guilty. "So riddle me this, Batman. I know he was gearing up to ask you to marry him. What would you have said?"

She shrugged. "I've always been afraid of marriage, well, ever since everything went to hell after Lilly died. I've been pretty certain since then that making a commitment like that will probably end in disappointment and heartbreak. But...with Piz, in the situation we were in? I probably would have said yes."

"Because it wouldn't have been any kind of real commitment," he speculated aloud and she nodded.

"If he finally got fed up and left, it wouldn't really have changed anything. Married or not."

"If you'd married him, what about kids? I know he wanted kids with you. He talked about it pretty regularly."

Veronica shook her head. "That would never have happened. Never." Her voice was very firm. "Do you see now why this wasn't something that you should have wanted for either of us?"

"So what about marriage and kids with Logan?" Wallace asked.

"This feels dangerously close to being girl talk," Veronica's voice was teasing, as she obviously tried to evade the topic, but Wallace wasn't letting her wriggle away after he'd finally pried this particular door open.

"I'm surprised you recognize it," he answered, raising his eyebrows at her. "Come on, Veronica, you can talk to me. I've gotten past most of what you seem to think I'm grudging on your boyfriend about but clearly you've still got some reservations. Tell me what's going on."

Lunch arrived then and the tension hanging over Veronica like a cloud lifted slightly as she dug into her Drunken Noodles. Wallace was okay with a short break for the food but if she thought she was getting away without talking to him, she was sorely mistaken.

The silence was broken only by the clatter of forks on plates and Veronica's occasional noises of appreciation. Wallace finished his barbecue pork and sat back, hands folded over his stomach, while Veronica stripped the last of the Chicken Satay off the skewers and dipped it into the peanut sauce. He watched with amusement as she cut the chicken into smaller and smaller pieces and chewed more slowly as her pile of food, and thus her shield against conversation, diminished. She used the last bite to wipe the tiny cup of peanut sauce clean, then sat back with a sigh of satisfaction.

"Delish," she said, mirroring his hands folded over her stomach. She dropped her head back against the booth. "All those noodles...I'm going into a carb coma in about half an hour. I should get back so I can accomplish something before my brain leaves me for the afternoon."

She sat up again, looking for the waitress. Wallace shook his head. _Oh no you don't._

The waitress appeared but before Veronica could speak, Wallace broke in.

"Can we get refills on our tea, please?"

The waitress nodded and walked away with their glasses while Veronica looked at him with surprise.

"You've got the afternoon off, but I don't. I really should get back."

"Your dad can get by without you for a while," Wallace said. "You and I are having a conversation."

"Wallace, no...really, I have to go back. Things to do."

Wallace pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed Keith's name. He smirked at Veronica as the phone rang.

 _"Wallace. What's going on? Is Veronica okay?"_

"Yeah, she's fine, but I'd like to spend a little more time with my bestie and she thinks you can't get by without her this afternoon. What do you think about that?" Veronica huffed across the table and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him. The waitress brought their glasses back to them and hurried away at Veronica's dark look.

 _"Oh no, it's fine. There's nothing on the calendar for the afternoon. She was going to duck out about_ _3:00 PM_ _anyway to go to my house and make Logan's birthday cake. Her car's already there; she came by and drove in to the office with me this morning so you can just drop her off there when you guys are done catching up and she can get ready for tomorrow."_

Wallace smiled broadly at Veronica's irritated face. "You got it, Keith. If I don't see you later, I will see you tomorrow." He thumbed the call off and tilted his head at Veronica. She wrinkled her nose at him, then smiled grudgingly.

"You've changed, Fennell. The Papa Bear I remember would've never tried to pull something like that on me."

"Tried?" he said with a chuckle. "There is no try...only do."

She gave an exaggerated sigh and shook her head. "All right, you win. What deep, dark secrets do you want me to confess?"

He sat back in his chair, his smile gone, studying her for a moment. "I just want you to know that I'm here for you. Even if it's about Logan. You said that you'd marry Piz but only because him leaving you later couldn't hurt you. Where does that put you and Logan? Are you going to marry him?"

She pressed her lips together and looked away. "He hasn't asked me."

"If he did?"

"I don't know if he will. He said the other day he knows I'd say no, so why ask?"

Wallace cocked his head. "Why does he think you'd say no?"

"I've always said I'd never get married. He said he paid attention when I talked." She shrugged. "I told him that I might have changed my mind a little since the last time he heard me say that."

"And kids? You said no way with Piz." He watched her face. "Is that one a hard no with Logan too?"

Veronica sat forward, leaning her elbow on the table and resting her chin on her hand. "No, it's not a hard no. I'm not sure about anything but...I do kinda think about it sometimes."

He snickered, shaking his head. "Sometimes you _kinda_ think about it? Quite a confession, Supafly."

She huffed at him again. "It's true. Logan and I...we've talked about the future a little and the idea doesn't completely freak me out. It kinda does...but not like it used to."

"Okay, that's fair," Wallace said, smiling as he reached for her free hand. "I'm sorry if I bullied that out of you. I just...I want you to be happy, and I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that Logan does that."

"Pretty much? Does that mean the snide, passive-aggressive comments are gonna stop?" She raised her eyebrows at him, looking smug.

"If you'd been paying attention, you'd know that they stopped a while ago."

"Hmm. Maybe. I just thought that I'd been keeping you off the subject of Logan." Her face turned thoughtful. "So you're okay with us?"

"Pretty sure that's what I've been saying here."

"And I heard you RSVP to the party tomorrow to my dad."

"Yes, you did. I'm not missing a chance to eat your baking. It's one of the best things about having you home."

Her mouth fell open in a look of faux outrage. "You only love me for my snickerdoodles?"

"Not just your snickerdoodles. I'm pretty sure we're talking about cake too." He smiled at her playfully, then raised his hand to the waitress, seeking the bill. "Although if I can get you home now, I wouldn't say no if that gave you time to make some of those delicious little morsels I love so much."

"If only I'd known back in high school that all those spirit boxes were going to lead to this—a life where you only love me for my cookies."

"Don't forget the cake."

"No, no, I won't." She smiled at him, her eyes narrowed, a look he'd seen her give quite a few people before she took them apart, brick by brick. Even knowing they were playing, he still felt a little tickle of unease up his spine.

"Just take care, Wallace. You never know what could slip into those cookies." She gave a low chuckle, evil mastermind style. "If I ever need to 'deal with you', I've got a sure fire way to get to you."

"Just pick something non-painful to poison me with," he said with a laugh. "As long as it doesn't hurt, I can't think of a better way to go than death by snickerdoodle."


	8. Chapter 8

Keith smiled as Dick flopped back into his client chair heaving a relieved sigh. "So you don't think I need to worry about this guy?"

"There's never any guarantees, Dick, but I didn't see anything in this man's history that would raise a red flag. I'm fairly certain that if your son has a problem with this man, there's a whole other reason for it than what you've been concerned about." Keith slid the folder with the searches he had conducted on Nathan Wills across the desk. "Maybe he just didn't like his mother dating."

Dick looked bemused. "No one ever likes their parents dating but it's just the way it works. And it wasn't like she was married already and was running around with this guy. What's the big deal?"

Keith shook his head. He never ceased to be shocked by what these children of the rich just took for granted. Infidelity between their parents. Trophy wives. More infidelity. It made him nervous for Veronica, but she had made it very clear to him, on more than one occasion, just how sure she was of Logan's loyalty and devotion. That was somewhat comforting.

"Kids like stability," he told Dick. "Adding new people at such a fundamental level can be scary for them." Keith sat back, thinking about the women he'd dated since Lianne left. Veronica hadn't liked any of them except Alicia and even that one had had a rocky start. Then he'd managed to screw it up by overstepping. Even after Veronica was gone, he'd always considered what he thought she would think about his dates and none of them lasted more than a few months.

"Huh. Well, in my experience, parents are always auditioning the next replacement so what's the point of giving a shit?" Dick looked at Keith nervously. "Umm, sorry, dude. I mean, what's the point of getting worked up?"

Keith held back his smile at Dick's discomfort. "Some parents take their kids' feelings more into account than others."

Dick laughed. "Yeah, none of the parents in my neighborhood." He sobered as he looked at Keith. "So I should only date women Cole likes?"

Keith raised his eyebrows. "I've been divorced for more than a decade and haven't had another relationship since then last more than a few months. I'm probably not your best resource here."

"Is that because of Veronica?"

Keith shrugged. "If I wanted to, I could probably blame her for the first couple of years but once she went to Stanford, that excuse didn't really ring true anymore. But yeah, I am always thinking about what she would think about any women I date. She wasn't crazy about some of my earlier choices."

Dick looked intrigued. "Strippers?"

"Oh my God, no!" Keith sputtered.

"Then what's the problem?" Dick asked. "I got a money-hungry Laker girl for my third mom. If you weren't bringing home strippers, what was Ronnie's problem?"

Keith rubbed his hand over his head, chuckling nervously. "Well, I can't really speak to Veronica's issues but I will tell you, the first woman I dated after her mother left was the guidance counselor at Neptune High. Veronica was a little uncomfortable with that."

"You dated hot Becky?" Dick exclaimed. "Dude, that's awesome." He looked at Keith appraisingly. "Gotta say, I'm impressed."

"It was very brief. It was just too awkward because of the school connection." _Nearly as awkward as this conversation._ "Look, Dick, if you meet someone you want to date, then date that person. Just make sure it's someone that you feel confident about bringing into your son's life too. One thing even harder about bringing new people into their lives is what happens if you break up after your child has formed a bond. That's the kind of thing you need to be thinking about."

Dick nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. There was never a lot of bonding at my house so it was no big deal when Dad and Sadie split and then when Dad went on the run, he left Kendall with us and was that ever a pain in the ass. It's weird, I figured I'd be paying her off for life but she pretty much fell off the face of the Earth. Wonder what rich guy she's bleeding dry these days. Hopefully he's old enough and rich enough that she doesn't turn up on my doorstep, like, ever."

Keith shifted awkwardly in his chair. He was quite certain Kendall would not be turning up on Dick's doorstep. Like, ever. But he wasn't sure that was information he should share.

"If she ever did show up, she'd be your dad's problem, not yours. I doubt she'd have any claim on your accounts. Her community property rights, if they weren't all excluded by pre-nups, wouldn't be against your property, only against your father's. Now, if you've got control of property that had been his, that might be a different situation but after all this time, I don't think you need to spend a lot of time worrying about it."

"One thing I can say for my dad, he made sure our money was well protected in trusts. He hid a lot of stuff in our names also, so when he took off, we ended up with that money. We couldn't really access it then, but it was there for later. And after Cassidy died, I got his money also, so I'm sitting pretty." Dick paused, looking thoughtful. "I need to set up a solid trust for Cole. Most of my dad's accountants are probably in jail; do you know anyone?"

Keith laughed. "For setting up trust funds? No, I haven't had a lot of call for those services. Maybe Logan knows someone."

"Yeah, maybe," Dick agreed. "He's locked up so much of his money. Do you know he actually lives off his salary? He makes some big purchases with his inheritance, like his car, and if Ronnie ever lets him buy them a house, but mostly, he's just a working stiff. And if they ever have kids, those little rug rats are gonna be filthy rich and they'll probably never even know it." Dick shook his head, seemingly unable to comprehend such an action but Keith smiled. Logan wasn't a spoiled little rich boy any longer and while that had been Veronica's claim for a while, it was nice to hear it independently confirmed by someone who knew what spoiled rich boys were supposed to look like. Keith wondered what other information he could get out of Dick.

"So you mentioned kids. Are they talking about having kids?"

Dick scoffed and rolled his eyes. "No! I've been trying to get Logan to do something about that, but I think he's afraid to talk to her."

Keith furrowed his brow, looking suspiciously at Dick. "Why would he be afraid to talk to her?"

"Dude, you have to know that your daughter's scary." Dick stopped, his head tilting as he studied Keith. "You do know that, right? I mean, how could someone live with her and not know that? And Logan, he's whipped, man. Whatever Ronnie wants, Ronnie gets."

"Well, as her father, I have to admit, I like that."

"Yeah, I get that. Especially now. But geez, don't you want some grandkids running around here? I keep telling Logan, they need to have kids while we can have fun with them. Don'tcha think?"

Keith laughed at the earnest man-child in front of him. "I think I'm going to stay out of this and I suggest that you might want to do the same."

Dick heaved a deep sigh. "They're lame."

"Perhaps." Keith stood and held out his hand to Dick. "So, next time you need a background check, remember Mars Investigations."

"Ha!" Dick stood, shifting the folder and reaching to shake Keith's hand. "You bet. You'll probably be hearing from me as soon as he's got a girlfriend."

"Don't go overboard there. You can always find dirt in someone's past or in their family's past but it isn't necessarily relevant. Wait until you've got a reason to be suspicious. Okay?"

Dick's face went slack as he appeared to mull the advice, then Keith saw comprehension dawn. "Like someone hearing about my dad the white collar criminal or my brother the mass murderer and not wanting anything to do with Cole because of them."

"Yes, exactly like that," Keith answered as he came around the desk. He clapped Dick on the arm and steered him toward the lobby. "We have to be careful about judging too harshly because of family. I mean, you're not keeping Logan away from Cole because of his dad."

Dick looked horrified. "No! I would never. I understand what you're saying, Mr. Mars. Thanks."

They entered the lobby and Mac looked up from her seven computer screens, her face wrinkling in confusion when she spotted Dick.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Her words brought Veronica to the door of her office. Neither girl had been in the office when Dick had arrived.

"Confidential business," Dick said in an imperious tone that made Keith snicker. "None of your beeswax, Mackie. Or yours either, Ronnie," he added, turning to Veronica.

"We're professionals, Dick," Veronica responded, in a voice as snooty as his. "We understand confidentiality."

"Good thing," he answered, walking to the door. "See y'all later. Thanks again, Mr. Mars."

The door closed behind him and they all were still for a moment before Veronica turned to Keith. "So? Why was he here?"

Keith burst into laughter. "Glad to see your professionalism in action, daughter o' mine. Give him his privacy. Stay out of the files; it's none of your business. You too," he said, pivoting to point at Mac. "No digging around in the computer. Everything's fine and you need to mind your own...beeswax. Got it?"

"Yes, Keith," Mac answered while Veronica mumbled something that sounded vaguely agreeable. Keith laughed again as he went back into his office.

* * *

A couple weeks later, Logan had a few days of leave so he convinced Veronica to take a quick trip up to Santa Barbara. They dropped Pony off with Dick and Cole on Sunday morning and headed up the coast to the Cheshire Cat Inn.

"You booked the Tweedledum Suite?" Veronica asked incredulously as they sped up the 101. "That sounds more like someplace you should take Dick."

"There're amenities in this suite that I'm not interested in sharing with Dick," Logan answered. "Just quit whining and wait 'til we get there. If you don't like it, I'm sure there's probably a Motel Six or something like that where we can stay instead."

"Ha ha."

"Look," he said, reaching over to catch her hand in his. "You're going to like this place. Yes, the name is silly but trust me, you'll like the suite, at least the parts that matter. I will tell you that the wallpaper looks a little flowery for your taste and they've decorated with English antiques, but you're going to like the whirlpool tub built into the bay window."

"Ooh, I think I will like that."

"See? I told ya."

She turned more toward him in her seat. "So are you ever going to tell me why we're taking this impromptu vacation? It seems weird to just drop everything and run off like this." She paused, looking thoughtful. "Are we eloping?"

He choked out a laugh. "I hadn't considered that but if you want to, sure."

"My dad would be mad if he missed it, so no." She squeezed his hand. "We'll have to do it another time. I'd want Wallace and Mac there too. Dick and Cole for you. I don't know that we need anyone else, although if you want some people you work with—"

"Veronica." Logan looked over at her, gaping. Unable to focus on anything other than her face, he swerved the car to a halt on the shoulder of the highway. "Veronica, you're planning our wedding."

"I said you could invite who you wanted..."

"Not the point. You're planning a wedding. For us. Like we'll be getting married at some point in the actually foreseeable future."

She turned pink and looked away. "Umm, yeah, I guess I was. We'd talked about it. You said you wanted to—"

"And you said the idea didn't repulse you any longer—"

"I never said anything about repulse—" She stopped and looked at him, her raised eyebrows and heavy sigh suggesting exasperation. "Do you want to marry me or not, Logan?"

His hands flew to his head, running through his too-short hair. " _You're_ proposing to _me_ , on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, in a tone that sounds vaguely threatening. This is not how I expected this trip to begin."

She laughed. "Answer the question, Echolls. Or am I jumping the gun here?"

He leaned across the console, catching her face in his hands. "You are definitely jumping the gun," he said before he kissed her. He slid one hand around the back of her head, winding through her hair, while the other stroked her cheek. She sighed against his mouth and pressed toward him. He felt her scrabble for her seatbelt and then she was straddling his lap, her hands gripping his neck.

The car jerked as his foot slipped off the clutch, then shuddered and died. Veronica pulled away for a moment, looking around nervously, but when it was clear that he'd only killed the engine, and that they hadn't just been hit, they both smiled and Veronica dropped her mouth to his again. He took his hand out of her hair and reached down along the side of the seat, easing them back to a more reclined position before laying that hand across the small of her back, caressing the exposed skin where her tee shirt was riding up as she crouched over him.

He ran his fingers gently along her spine and she sighed and stretched out along his torso as they continued to kiss. Logan could feel her heat pressing against his abs. The hand along her back slipped down to cup her ass and she moaned when he pressed his fingers against the seam of her jeans.

He'd reached the point where he was nearly ready to strip her tee shirt off, side of the highway or not, when she forcefully pulled her mouth away from him. She rested her forearms on his chest, and looked out the window while she drew in deep breaths. After a moment, she looked down at him with a smile that made him think about pulling the tee shirt off again.

"Wow."

He laughed. "That was somewhat unexpected."

"And you said I jumped the gun but you don't seem upset about that. What did you mean?" She moved one of her hands forward to trace along his jawline.

"Well..." He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. "You sorta made my dinner plans for Tuesday obsolete."

"How can dinner be obsolete? I always want dinner. And pretty soon, I'm gonna want lunch."

"I didn't say you made dinner obsolete. You made my plans obsolete." She crinkled her forehead as she looked at him, then she smiled.

"Really?"

He nodded, not trusting his voice.

"That's why we came on this trip?"

He nodded again and her nose wrinkled.

"And I messed it up for you," she said, voice remorseful. "You planned this whole thing and I messed it up."

He shook his head this time. "No, you didn't mess anything up. I was going to be a nervous wreck for the next two days, worrying about what you would say, and you just took all the pressure off. And if you don't realize how much it means that _you're_ the one bringing this up, then you really have no idea how I feel about you."

She smiled down at him and brushed a gentle kiss across his lips. "I do want to marry you. Honestly, after we talked about this last, I kinda thought I'd sorta agreed that we would...get married, I mean. It felt like I was telling you that I wanted to, but maybe I wasn't specific enough." She kissed him again. "So, do you have a ring and everything?"

He nodded, smoothing her hair behind her ear. "Got a ring and talked to your dad."

"What?" Her eyes widened in shock. "You talked to my dad? When?"

"At my birthday party. I knew I couldn't do this without talking to him first. He's too important to you. I don't want you to feel like you're torn between us anymore. I know that's been an issue in the past and I don't want to take this step without knowing that it won't be an issue again."

"Wow. You're so prepared. I'm impressed." She kissed him again, then squirmed upright, straddling his lap again. He grinned lasciviously and rocked his hips up against her.

"Wanna celebrate this momentous occasion?"

She laughed and ground down on him, then kissed his nose, and pushed back into her own seat. "Get me to this Tweedledum room and we can celebrate all week long. I still want this fancy dinner proposal on Tuesday though so we'll have to come up for air at least briefly." She settled in and buckled her seatbelt as he moved his seat back to an upright position.

"You don't want me to get in the trunk and bring you the ring now?" he asked, surprised that she could wait for two more days. His brand new fiancée wasn't exactly known for her ability to postpone getting answers, which he'd thought would translate into needing to see engagement rings right away also.

"You had a plan. I want you to be able to use it." She reached over to pat his leg. "So come on, buster. Let's get back on the road. Celebrating awaits."

* * *

"Are you ever getting out of that tub?" Logan called from the bed. "I'm sad and lonely over here."

"There's plenty of room in here," Veronica called back to him over her shoulder.

"I know. We've spent most of the last three days in there. But no matter how much I want to be with you, if I spend anymore time submerged, I'm afraid my appendages are going to prune up too much and start falling off. I'm pretty sure you don't want that. You're a pretty big fan of some of my appendages."

"You do have interesting toes," she teased as she turned and folded her arms along the top edge of the tub, resting her chin on her hands. The ring on her left hand jabbed her when she did that and quickly shifted to rest her cheek on her arm. "Let's see 'em."

He raised his head off the pillow, looking confused. "My toes?"

"Yes, your toes."

He screwed up his face and shook his head at her. "Toes were the cause of Dick's first divorce. I'm not sure I like where this is going."

"I said I think your toes are interesting. Does that sound like I'm leaving you because of them?" He shook his head again.

"This is beyond weird." He sat up and scooted off the bed, then walked to the tub.

"Ooh, are you getting back in?"

"No, I'm taking you out." He reached into the tub and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her up and balancing her over his shoulder, her upper body dangling down his back. "All the time in the tub has shrunk your brain or something." He grabbed a towel and scrubbed it over her skin.

"You got this room because of the tub," she grumbled and poked his bare ass.

"I didn't expect you to set up camp in there and refuse to leave," he said. "Here I was thinking that when we go out looking for a house, we should look for a big tub in the master bath but now I'm not so sure." He knelt on the end of the bed and slid her off his shoulder and onto the mattress before lifting her foot and peering at her toes. She flexed them apart, then scrunched them up, and he shook his head and kissed the ball of her foot. "You're a prune."

"They'll be fine," she insisted, pointing her toes and stretching her leg out to trace her foot across his chest. "You worry too much." She raised up on her elbows and pushed further up the mattress until she was resting against the pillows. Logan continued to kneel at the foot of the bed, watching her, but when she crooked her finger at him with a smile, he crawled up after her.

"Okay, I'm out of the fabulous tub. What did you have in mind? It better be good."

"I'll do my very best."

* * *

"Congratulations!" Mac called out as Veronica entered the Casablancas great room on Saturday afternoon. She stretched to get a better look around Veronica to the front door. "At least, I think congratulations are in order, but I've never seen you walk in here without Logan, sooo..."

Veronica laughed and dropped into the chair next to Mac. "Yes, congratulations are appropriate, thank you." She rested her left hand on the table between them. "Logan got waylaid in the driveway by Dick and Cole—looking at Cole's new surfboard. Dick gets nervous having me around new surfboards so I cleared out." She waggled her fingers. "Have you seen this already?"

"Nope," Mac said. "I was kept in the dark until after Logan texted Dick that the deed was done. I guess they were afraid I'd spill the beans to you? I don't know who they think they're dealing with. It's not like I was going to feel compelled to run to you with a girly secret like that."

"That's not it. They figured they'd have to pay you to keep quiet," Veronica said with a laugh. "You've got something of a mercenary reputation."

"I never should have confessed to the Purity Test scam. Before that, they just thought I was nice." She lifted Veronica's hand from the table. "This ain't bad."

"Well, golly, that's certainly high praise." They rolled their eyes at each other.

"It's beautiful, Veronica. And at least seven carats smaller than I expected."

"Logan knows better than that."

"Yeah, I'm sure he does." She released Veronica's hand. "So, how was the B&B?"

"It was beautiful. A little froofy, but very nice. I'd go back." She shrugged. "How've things been around here?"

"Same old. Your dad did some interviews on a work injury and he had surveillance a couple of nights. I sorted through that Westley case; there was a nephew siphoning money from one of the trust accounts. He hid the trail to his own account pretty well but I figured it out. You've got an appointment with one of the County supervisors next week. He said Petra Landros referred him but would not talk about his issues with anyone but you."

"Okay, that should be fun. So, what are you doing here anyway? Or do you just spend all your free time here these days?"

"Dick said you guys were coming home and we needed to celebrate. Wallace is supposed to be here later too."

Veronica's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Yeah. I was a little surprised but he seemed genuinely happy for you guys." She smirked. "And, I kinda have a date meeting me here."

Now Veronica's mouth dropped open. "What? A date? We were only gone for a few days and you're dating?"

"What can I say? You were gone so I went to the Farmer's Market at lunch on Wednesday and made a new friend. We're gonna go see a movie a little later."

"You met a farmer?" Veronica smiled playfully. "That doesn't sound high-tech enough for you."

"Actually, yes." Mac turned pink and her dimples deepened. "Umm, and, something else. The farmer...her name's DeeDee."

Veronica startled, then grinned broadly. "Really?" Her mouth snapped closed as she struggled for what she wanted to say next. "I'm...a little surprised. Not in a bad way. I just...I've...I've never heard you talk about..." She stuttered to a halt, not wanting to say the wrong thing.

"You were gone a long time, Veronica. I dated quite a few people. Once in a while, those people were women." She tilted her head and raised her shoulders, a tiny smile on her face. "The first time, it was kinda about not having to deal with another guy. But now, it's about people I'm interested in. DeeDee was really cool. It doesn't have to turn into anything."

"But it could," Veronica said.

"You're not going to become one of those women who want everyone to settle down once they've made some kind of commitment, right? Because that does not sound at all appealing."

"No, no, that's not it. I just want you to be happy."

"And going to the movies tonight will probably make me happy. We'll see what happens after that." Mac looked at Veronica seriously. "No weird questions when she shows up. Got it?"

"Got it. Weird questions, all tabled for tonight." She frowned. "Does Dick know about this?"

"I told him a friend was coming by and we were going to the movies. I'm not telling him anything else."

"I think that's wise. I kinda think the idea of you dating another woman might be more than his tiny brain can handle." They both laughed. "I also suspect he has a bit of a crush on you."

"Dick's nice, and since he's stopped being an asshole on a regular basis, he's actually fairly attractive. I don't think I could go there though. Well," Mac made a thoughtful face, "maybe once or twice, but then things would be so awkward. It's probably not worth it."

The front door opened and Cole burst in, followed by Dick, then Logan and Wallace. Cole headed straight for the kitchen, pulling a cake from on top of the refrigerator. He looked at Mac.

"Sorry, the cake's not vegan. But we've got like three flavors of ice cream that you can eat instead."

"It's fine," she answered. "The cake's for Veronica. And Logan too, although..."

"Although Logan's likes and dislikes are secondary to those of his beautiful fiancée," Logan interjected. "Trust me. I know it and I'm fine with it." He kissed the top of Veronica's head.

"Maybe you can handle this after all," Wallace said, smirking at Logan. "You certainly seem to have the food reality down pat."

"Ha ha, you people are hilarious," Veronica said scornfully. She looked at Cole. "Okay, boy, get with it. Time for cake."


	9. Chapter 9

_Finally...the site has been refusing to accept new chapters but it's working again! Yay!_

 _A note about the chapter itself, l_ _ast week was pretty fluffy but this week gets a bit darker. A warning that there is mention of drugging and rape, canon and non-canon, here._

* * *

Keith stepped out into the waiting room, summoned by Mac's page on the intercom informing him that his 9:30 AM appointment had arrived. He'd heard the bell when the door opened and had heard the client's interaction with Mac, but he knew that Mac was nervous about ensuring that Mars Investigations made an excellent first impression with this client, the newest sheriff of Balboa County. He wasn't sure of the reason for the appointment, and he wasn't concerned, but it had been amusing to watch the normally unflappable Mac bustle around the waiting room that morning, straightening magazines and moving the lone plant in the office from spot to spot. Veronica, much more accustomed to confrontations with 'The Law' in Neptune, had just leaned against Mac's desk, watching her friend and shaking her head.

"Marcia, good morning. How's the head of Neptune's finest on this lovely day?" He may not have known why the sheriff had made an appointment with him but he was ready to make the most of it.

"You know Neptune as well as I do, Keith," Sheriff Langdon replied. "Always bright and shiny on the outside." She paused, raising her eyebrows at him meaningfully. "And let's just leave it at that."

Keith nodded. "Why don't you join me in my office?" He held his arm out, motioning her ahead of him. Before he closed the door, he caught Mac's eye, and smiled reassuringly in response to her look of concern.

"So, Marcia, what can we do for you?" he asked as he moved around his desk to his chair. "I have to admit, I was a little surprised when I learned you'd made an appointment."

"From what I understand, the County has recruited you for some projects in the past, even after you separated from the Sheriff's Department. Is my information inaccurate?"

"You're right; I did work on a couple of projects while Don Lamb was the sheriff. That wasn't at his request though." Keith smirked. "Those situations were in spite of Don's wishes. He would never have sought me out on his own. He was always forced into it by the Board of Supervisors."

"Well, that's not how I operate," Marcia said in a decisive voice. "I have had communication with several of the supervisors and they concur that this is a situation where an outside perspective could be valuable. I don't need them to drag me to a quality decision like some of my predecessors did. Present company excluded, of course."

Keith nodded. "Of course. So, why don't you explain your situation and we'll see if it's something I can help you with."

* * *

Logan was searching the fridge for dinner ideas when Veronica walked in the front door of the apartment, talking on her phone.

"Okay, I'll be there tomorrow for your lunch hour. What time again?" She made a grumbling noise. "11:53 AM? That's dumb. When we were in school, the bells rang at normal times, didn't they? This new-fangled bell schedule is too hard to manage. We should probably synchronize our watches." She laughed into the phone and stopped next to Logan, stretching up to brush a kiss on his cheek. "Okay, no, I don't actually have a watch, I use my phone too. All right, fine. See you at 11:53 AM. Not a moment earlier or later." She laughed once more and thumbed her phone off.

"Well, hello there, pretty boy."

Logan looked at her with a scowl. "Pretty boy? That is not an approved nickname."

"I don't know why not. You're awfully pretty." She stretched up on her toes again, resting her hand on his cheek and stroking her thumb across his mouth. "Except for when you look like that. Knock it off." She moved in closer and pressed her lips against his before pulling back and looking at him closely. He could feel one side of his mouth twitching as he tried to hold onto his frown.

"Eh, I give up," she said, her eyes twinkling as she began to pull away. "Mess up that pretty mug all you want, doesn't matter to—"

He pulled her back toward him, wrapping one arm around her waist and supporting her back with the other as he tipped her back for a long, deep kiss. She clutched his arm with one hand while the other crept up into his hair. When he finally pulled away, still cradling her, she blinked up at him, dazed, for a moment, then she smiled.

"All right. You keep doing that, I'll call you whatever you want." She struggled upright and stood close, breathing heavily, her hand stroking his chest as she looked up at him. "If you don't like being called pretty—"

He shook his head and scooped her up, heading for the bedroom, nosing into her neck. "All I want to hear from you is my name. Repeatedly. Maybe interspersed with an occasional 'oh God, more'."

Her husky laugh jolted straight through him. "Mmm, God, Logan, more."

* * *

Some time later, Logan jerked awake, reaching for Veronica but not finding her. He was alone in their bed and the mattress beside him was cold. He sat up, looking around for evidence of Veronica in the room. It had still been bright sunlight when he carried Veronica to the bedroom but the windows were now dark. He stood, grabbing his shorts off the floor to put them on, then shrugging on his tee shirt. Veronica's clothes were still on the floor, making him even more interested in finding her.

He opened the bedroom door and headed into the kitchen. He found Veronica sitting at the table in one of his tee shirts, eating macaroni and cheese and studying her laptop screen. Pony was curled up in her bed, snoring softly. He moved up behind Veronica and leaned down to kiss her temple.

"I missed you when I woke up," Logan said, rubbing his hands down her arms. "Whatcha looking at?" He kissed her cheek and sat in the chair next to her.

"Police reports." She held out a forkful of macaroni. "Bite?"

He scrunched up his nose. "That's not real food."

She laughed and popped the bite in her mouth. "Tastes like real yummy food to me." She elbowed Logan in the side. "Go find your own dinner then."

"I will. Is this for a case? Do I need to step away from the laptop?" She shrugged, appearing unconcerned and he let himself focus on the screen.

"All the names of the innocent and the not so innocent have been redacted so it's probably not an issue. Our new sheriff has asked Mars Investigations to look over some cases where she's not convinced her deputies actually did a full investigation. Apparently there's been a rash of GHB-enabled rape accusations coming out of Neptune High and the 09er boys accused were all exonerated. Sheriff Langdon thinks there might be some preferential treatment, possibly for a fee, being afforded to certain suspects. She's recruited us to look over the investigation materials and see if we come to the same conclusions that her deputies did."

Logan looked at her with concern. "You're okay with doing this?"

She frowned at him. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, it just seems to hit a little close to home, you know? It's not that long ago that you were struggling with dreams of Cassidy. I'd hate to see that start again."

"I'm not some delicate flower who has to be protected from the world, Logan," she said coldly. "I'm a grownup."

"I never suggested anything like that," Logan said, bristling back at her momentarily before calming himself. "I didn't suggest that," he repeated, in a gentler tone, "but it's not unreasonable for me to be a little concerned about you working on a case with a rapist who uses GHB." He could feel himself losing his cool again as a flood of memories suddenly invaded his thoughts. "You may not remember the day I found you unconscious in the parking garage but I do. Vividly. Just like I remember how I felt when I heard what happened that last night, when I left you at the mercy of that bastard." He shuddered and leaned his forehead on her shoulder, eyes closed as he drew in deep breaths, trying to get his emotions under control. He felt a bumping against his leg and reached down to stroke Pony's head.

"Logan? Hey, stop." She shrugged her shoulder and he raised his head, leaning back in his chair again, still pulling in deep breaths. "Logan, stop. I'm fine and you did not abandon me to Mercer. That was just bad luck. You thought you were sending me to the safest place and we were all wrong. Nobody's fault." Her fingers ran through his hair. "Logan, you're scaring the dog."

"Sorry, girl," he mumbled and rubbed his knuckles down the dog's back. Pony pressed in more closely between them and Logan felt Veronica's hand on his knee. He opened his eyes and saw her peering closely at him, looking worried.

"What's happening here? Are you okay?" She raised her hand and cupped his cheek. "You need to talk to me."

He laughed weakly. "Isn't that usually my line?"

"It's mine today. Now tell me what's happening inside here—" She tapped a finger against his temple. "—so we can work this out."

"Well, it kinda seems like you're not the only one with some triggers that haven't been completely dealt with."

Veronica frowned, then leaned forward and pressed her lips against his forehead.

"Logan, listen to me. This is not something you need to worry about. It's more of an investigation into the investigation. We're not going anywhere near anyone who is alleged to be involved. We're just reviewing the evidence because Sheriff Langdon can't do all the legwork herself and she doesn't know who to trust in her department. This is a completely different situation than the Hearst Rapist investigation." She moved to sit in his lap, displacing Pony, who curled herself around the other side of Logan's legs. Veronica stroked her hand up and down his arm and Logan drew in another deep breath, feeling the tension smooth away under her fingers.

"Okay, I'm listening. Tell me about this investigation."

"That's better. The sheriff brought Dad both the official investigation materials and an additional set of recordings. The department practice is to record all their interviews and they've got a fancy new system wired into the interrogation rooms. No more of those handheld recorders and boxes and boxes of tapes. Everything's digital. The thing is, when they installed that system, Sheriff Langdon also had a secondary system put in place that isn't common knowledge. So you're officially an insider now and you better keep your lip zipped, Echolls."

He nodded and ran his hand across his mouth like a zipper, flicking the invisible key away as he smirked through tight lips. Veronica smirked back and nodded.

"Excellent. So, the deputies aren't aware that most areas of the station are recorded around the clock."

"Is that legal?" Logan asked.

"So much for that zipped lip. Yes, it's a public building so the general public should already be aware that Big Brother could be watching and the deputies' contracts have all got language in them addressing the agreement to be recorded at any time. That was apparently added when they put dash cams in the patrol cars. The problem is that there are thousands of hours recorded with multiple ears throughout the building. The sheriff is concerned that some of the deputies may be editing their interrogations more than they should. It's normal to be able to turn the recorder on and off. The police can say pretty much anything they want in an interrogation to try to get the witness to spill their guts. Perfectly legal but not public friendly so sometimes that tall tale telling happens off the recorder. What she's concerned about is that when the recorder is off, some of these deputies might be making deals with the suspects or, more likely, their rich parents."

"Whoa. And she wants you guys to sort through these thousands of hours of recordings and hunt down these deals that may or may not be there? It sounds like you'll be doing that until we're all old and grey."

"This is something they actually do in the FBI, which reminds me why I'm glad I didn't go back after that first summer. Now, there's software to help deal with this kind of thing, kind of a net that listens for key words, so you don't have to have armies of analysts who do nothing but listen to recordings for months at a time. Mac's already got that running. When the key words hit, they go on a report. Dad's taking the lead on following up on those hits." She snuggled in more closely against him, dropping her arm around his shoulder. "Thank God. That will be so boring. But if the word net lets in too many responses, I might have to start listening also. If it's really too many, maybe I'll drag you in to the office and get you some headphones too. Dad will evaluate the initial results tomorrow and decide if Mac needs to tighten the net. Make the key words more specific so there are fewer erroneous hits."

"She had to go out to you guys because she doesn't know who's dirty still in the department. Right?"

"Exactly. The other thing I'm doing is tomorrow, I'm going to go have lunch with Wallace and while I'm wandering the hallowed halls of Neptune High, I'm going to drop in on my old buddy, Van Clemmons." She grinned broadly. "I miss him."

Logan laughed. "What are you hoping to get from him?"

"Just a temperature on the student body. What he's heard; what he believes might be true. He isn't going to want to say anything in an official capacity but he's as concerned about this issue as anyone and the sheriff has put a bug in his ear that she's getting some outside help from us. He'll talk to me, probably in ways that could be construed as completely innocent statements but he and I, we always used to understand each other pretty well. We probably still do. He's worked me to his advantage in the past but he's fair. I'm looking forward to it actually." She smiled and kissed Logan's cheek, then reached for her macaroni and cheese.

"Ugh, don't eat that sitting on me." Logan lifted her off his lap, back into her own chair. Pony had fallen asleep against Logan's legs and she looked up at them reproachfully.

"Geez, where's the love?" Veronica said with a laugh before digging into the last of her dinner.

"So tell me how he 'worked you to his advantage'. I've never heard that before." Logan stood up and went to the refrigerator, returning to his hunt for dinner that had begun hours earlier.

"Oh, I'm the way he got promoted to principal in the first place. He used information that I'm sure he'd had for ages to pull me in and threaten to suspend me, then, for punishment, he sent me on a wild chase through the permanent files, knowing that I was going to find my mother's file and _have_ to look at it. The end result was I found out a big secret about his predecessor that got him fired and Clemmons promoted. It was a devious plan and it worked like a charm." She finished her dinner and brought the bowl to the sink.

"Moorehouse got fired when it came out he was Trina's biological father. You figured that out?" Logan looked at her, shaking his head. "How did I not know that?"

She shrugged. "It wasn't during one of our better moments."

"Ahh, yeah, I guess that's true." He finally pulled a bowl of leftover roasted vegetables out of the fridge. "Did Trina know? That you're the one who found out?"

"Oh yeah. At the end, I actually enlisted Trina's help. At first, I was convinced that Celeste Kane was her mother and man, did I want that to be true. I hated that woman; I'd have done anything to bring her smug, bitchy, condescending ass down. Turned out that assumption was just wishful thinking and I got Trina to help me with that fake video saying that she was dying."

"That was you?" He set the bowl down on the counter with a bang. "I hear my sister is dying on national TV and it's a hoax. A little notice that you were leaking a fake story might have been nice."

Veronica grimaced. "She probably didn't think you'd notice the story. Or care if you did hear."

"And you thought that too? You thought I wouldn't care if my sister was dying?" He slumped against the counter. "I'm not surprised that she thought that. She's self-absorbed and not all that bright. But I thought you knew me better than that. I'm not Trina's biggest fan, obviously, but she's still my sister. I would care if she died."

"I'm really sorry. It was a bad choice." She reached for his hand and the guilty look on her face made him feel bad for dredging up old hurts. "To be honest, I was on the trail of something and I didn't even think about you being involved. It did occur to me later but by then the truth was out." She pulled his hand into both of hers, lacing her fingers together and pulling them against her chest. "I am sorry, Logan."

Her remorseful face broke him. "Veronica, it was more than a decade ago. I'm fine. And you're forgiven." He leaned down to kiss her nose, then rested his forehead against hers. "Okay?"

She nodded. "Okay." She pulled his hand up further and kissed it, then released him. "Why don't you eat your dinner? I'm going to close up what I'm doing here and then we can go to bed for real this time."

"Sounds good." He turned back to his bowl of vegetables, popping them in the microwave. "I'll take Pony out for a few minutes so she doesn't wake us up later." He whistled and the puppy jumped up from where she'd slumped on the floor earlier, trotting over to Logan and leaning against his legs again. "Wanna go out, girl?" he cooed to her and her tail thumped loudly against the cupboard.

"Don't be long," Veronica said, eyes back on her computer as she saved and shut down the open documents.

"Nope, quick trip out, quick dinner, then I'll be in. Hopefully you'll still be awake."

She looked up and gave him a slow, sexy smile. "If you wake me up the right way, I won't even be mad."

"Well, okay then, challenge accepted. Pony, get the leash."

* * *

Veronica rose from her chair and held out her hand. "I appreciate that you made time to talk to me, Mr. Clemmons. I'll tell you, I wasn't sure if you might still be holding a grudge about that whole flooded-out reunion thing."

Clemmons chuckled as he reached out to shake her hand. "The damages were taken care of. Once the school wasn't on the hook any longer, how the Class of 2006 chose to celebrate was immaterial to me."

She laughed. "Well, I promise to do my best to avoid all future reunions."

"Probably just as well." He came around the desk. "Let me walk you out. School's about to get out for the day; I'll point out the group we talked about." He opened his office door and gestured her through. "And let me know if there's anything else that I can do to help. I think we both know you can get into this school whenever you please, but in this situation, I think we're better off working together."

Veronica looked at him, giving him her best incredulous face. "I'm shocked. You think I would break INTO the school. That sounds crazy."

"Mmmhmm. It does." They looked at each other for a moment, Veronica trying to maintain her injured innocent face against his droll skepticism but it was too much effort and she grinned at him.

"Great to be working with you again, Mr. C."

They made their way out to the front of the school through the crush of excited students just freed for the day. Glancing out toward the parking lot, Clemmons tilted his head slightly toward a small group of boys clustered around a bright red Porsche. "There you go."

"Wow," Veronica said, as she put her sunglasses on to cover her gaze. "Over privileged boys haven't changed much in the last decade." When Clemmons raised his eyebrows but didn't look at her, she laughed. "And I'd know, wouldn't I?"

"The tall one is Jake Wilson," Clemmons said in a low voice. "Green polo is Zach Brennan. And the grey, hooded tee shirt is Dillon Carter."

Veronica watched the boys for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Thanks. I'm gonna get going. I'll be in touch if we have any more questions." She turned to look up at him. "We'll do what we can to figure this out."

"Thank you, Veronica. And please, pass on my congratulations to Mr. Echolls. Remember I need any future birth announcements so I can plan my retirement accordingly." Clemmons turned and walked back toward the school as Veronica looked after him, chuckling.

She snuck one more quick look at the boys at the Porsche, then started toward her car. She was nearly there when she heard a voice calling her name.

"Veronica, hold on."

She looked back and saw Cole chasing her down, backpack on his shoulder, skateboard under his arm. "Veronica, hey."

"Hi, Cole. How was school?" He fell in beside her as she continued to walk toward her car.

"Good. Got an A on my semester project in Honors English and I'm pretty sure I aced my Integrated Math test today."

"Wow! Good job. Are you waiting for your dad to pick you up?"

"Oh no, I'm riding home." He brandished his skateboard at her.

"All the way to your house?" she asked. "That's a long way."

"A couple miles, no big." He looked at her quizzically. "What are you doing here talking to my principal?"

"He was my principal first," Veronica said with a grin. "Me and ole' Van go way back." They reached her car and she looked at him. "Maybe it's not a long way but do you want a ride home anyway?"

"Sure. It's not bad but I won't turn down a ride." They got into the car and headed for Dick's.

"Do you ride your skateboard back and forth every day?" she asked.

"Nah, Dad takes me to school, I just ride home."

"I'm pretty surprised Dick lets you do that." She glanced over at him. "I hadn't thought about it really but I just sorta assumed he was shuttling you, or having you shuttled, back and forth. Pretty sure that's what happened to he and Cassidy until Dick could drive."

"Grandma told him not too. He did start out like that, wouldn't let me out anywhere alone, and she told him he was being a helicopter parent and he needed to back off."

Veronica burst into laughter. "Dick Casablancas—schooled for being too attentive of a parent. I think hell has officially frozen over."

Cole laughed with her. "I caught him following me the first week. When he realized I'd seen him, he begged me not to narc him out to Grandma."

Veronica snorted, laughing so hard she had to wipe tears from the corners of her eyes. "I have to think of a way to use this against him."

They'd taken the turn into Dick's neighborhood when Cole changed the subject again. "So, why were you at school? If I had to guess, I'd say you were there about the GHB thing."

Veronica startled. "What do you know about that?"

"Everybody knows about that," he replied. "Macy Rhoades punched Dillon Carter in the face last week when he showed back up at school. Then there was a bunch of yelling."

"So I guess that explains why everyone knows," Veronica said. "So is there a general consensus about who's lying?"

"I don't know. People are mostly siding with whoever they're friends with. I only know Jake and he doesn't seem like a rapist to me. I mean, he's always got girls crawling all over him. Why would he need to drug some girl to get her to sleep with him?"

"I don't know, Cole. Maybe a particular girl wouldn't agree? Maybe he didn't want to have to put in the work? Maybe he's an asshole? I don't know." She pulled up to the beach house and shut off the car, turning toward the boy. "Or, maybe it's a mistake and someone else did it but the girl can't remember everything so she's assuming it was the last person she remembers seeing."

Cole shuddered. "That's creepy. You happen to be the last person she sees and suddenly you're a rapist? That'll screw up your whole life."

Veronica raised her eyebrows and frowned. "I think you can be pretty sure that waking up knowing someone had sex with you and you don't remember anything, including who did it, can screw your life up too."

Cole looked chagrined and she softened. "You understand, don't you, even if the girl's conscious, if she's messed up, whether it's drugs or alcohol, if she's not in control of herself, it's not okay to talk her into something you know she wouldn't agree to if she wasn't intoxicated. If she wouldn't say yes sober, it's not okay to take advantage of her going along because she's not."

Cole turned red but nodded. "I know. My mom talked to me about the same thing." Veronica's eyes widened as she considered that implication but Cole held up his hand. "No, she didn't think anyone drugged her or anything like that. She just said that when you're wrecked, you'll probably do things that you might not do sober, and you might not be as careful as you should be."

"That's all true," Veronica said, "but my point is more about deliberately trying to loosen someone else up. If you're doing that, you don't really have their consent for anything you get them to do."

Cole nodded again, then they both jumped when there was a sudden knocking on the windshield next to him.

"Hey, you two, what's with the serious faces?" Dick shouted in at them.

Veronica forced a smile, as Cole opened his door. "Just talking about stuff at school," Cole said, swinging out of the car. "Thanks for the ride, Veronica, And don't worry, I hear what you're saying. I have no plans to drug anyone to have sex with them."

"What?!" Dick's head swiveled between Cole and Veronica. "That doesn't sound like school stuff."

"You'd be surprised, Dick," Veronica said, suddenly agitated. "Actually, why would you be surprised? You remember GHB at parties, don't you?" The genial look fell off Dick's face as they locked eyes.

"Hey, Cole, why don't you go in and get a snack before you get going on your homework. I'll be inside in a couple minutes. I need to talk to Veronica."

Cole frowned. "Are you sure? We should probably let Veronica go."

"It's all good, Cole, I've got a few more minutes for your dad." Veronica pulled her eyes away from Dick and she smiled at Cole. "I'll see you soon." Cole glanced at Dick once more, then walked to the house.

"Would you like to sit?" Veronica asked, gesturing to the passenger seat. Dick narrowed his eyes, then moved into the car and shut the door.

"So what were you telling my kid, Ronnie?"

"There's some stuff going on with some of the students at Neptune High, involving GHB and accusations of rape. Cole already knew about it and all I said to him was that drugging someone, or getting them drunk, so they'll agree to do something that they would say no to if they were sober is not okay."

Dick looked away from her, staring out the windshield at the sky, his mouth pressed into a hard line. After a moment, he looked back at her. "I can probably take care of this kind of thing with my kid, Veronica. I don't think I need you lecturing him."

"Just wanted to make sure he got the message," Veronica said coldly. "I couldn't be sure that you'd learned that particular lesson in the last fourteen years."

"What are you suggesting? That I drugged Maggie?"

"No, I'd never considered that, until today, although now that the issue's come up, it's not impossible to believe." She took a deep breath, trying to keep her cool. "I'm talking about a year or so later, when you tried to drug Madison into loosening up. Too bad for you though, you chose a sugared soda to drug. No way was she gonna drink that."

Dick stared at her, mouth hanging slightly open. "How do you know about that?"

"I know all kinds of things. Haven't you figured that out by now?"

"That was one time and nothing happened. She dumped that drink and I didn't do anything to her."

"Not for lack of trying though." Her heart was racing. The urge to shout at him, finally tell him what he'd done to her, was raging inside her. It was only the fear that he'd then have that proof of her weakness that kept her from tearing into him.

"You're right," Dick said and she jerked in surprise.

"I'm right?" She could only blink stupidly at him for a moment. Somehow him agreeing with her had never occurred to her.

"Yeah, you're right. That wasn't cool. I was an asshole that night. I wouldn't want Cole to act like I did." Dick's face scrunched up tight and he looked worried. "That wasn't the only shitty thing I did that night."

Suddenly, she didn't want a confession. "Yeah, I know, Dick. Look—"

"Once Madison stormed off, I hooked up with someone else. Cheated on her." He looked ruefully at Veronica. "I know you guys hate each other but I figure you're still gonna go all girl power on me about cheating."

Again, he'd caught her off guard. And now she did want the confession. And an apology.

"That's the other bad thing you did? Is that all?" She leaned toward him slightly, trying to keep her shaking hands pressed still against the top of her thighs. "Remember anything you did to me? Or was I so inconsequential that you've forgotten that part?"

Dick seemed to shrink in the seat. "You know about that?" His voice was practically a whisper.

"I dunno. Why don't you tell me how you remember it and we'll see."

His eyes dropped into his lap where his hands were twisting together. "You disappeared for a while. You'd been wandering around the party, wasted. Some of the guys, me included, got you and Shelley to make out."

"I know about that," she said.

"Umm, do you know about the salt lick?" he asked and his eyes shot up at her for a moment before he looked away again, looking even worse than he already had.

"I do, and I know about Logan's part in that, in case that's why you suddenly look like you want to throw up." The relief on his face when she cleared him of incriminating Logan made her feel a tiny stab of pity for this idiot who cared so much about his best friend.

"Well, like I said, you disappeared for a while. I figured you'd wised up and left. Then, we found you alone, passed out on a couch inside the house."

"And you called an ambulance to take me to the emergency room and pump my stomach, right Dick?" she asked sarcastically. "Make sure I didn't choke to death on my own vomit? Or maybe just stop breathing like Susan Knight a few years later?"

"You know that's not what happened," he mumbled.

"Yeah, I do."

"I picked you up and carried you to a bedroom. Then I kinda taunted Cassidy, told him maybe he could get lucky with a girl who was passed out. Tossed him a condom and walked out." He looked up at her again. "That's what you're talking about...right?"

She nodded grimly. "Yep. That's the sordid confession I was looking for."

"I wouldn't blame you if you don't believe me, but I am sorry. I would give just about anything to make that not be true."

"So would I," she answered. "Now get out of my car."

"Really, Veronica," Dick insisted. "I am sorry. That was a shitty thing to do, even if it was only Cass. He wouldn't actually hurt you. I knew he'd just run off."

Veronica stared at him. She wasn't going to confess anything, not even when she wanted so badly to make him understand just how wrong he was. A little knife twisting, though. That she could do.

"Are we talking about the same guy? Your brother, the mass murderer? You think he wouldn't actually hurt me? If I hadn't gotten off that bus, he'd have killed me that day along with everybody else. And then, if you'll recall, he tried to do it again a few months later. So forgive me if I'm not terribly convinced that you did me a favor since it was only Cassidy you invited to rape me. Now get out of my car."

Dick hung his head and sighed. "I know I can't apologize enough, but I hope that you'll believe me. I am so, so sorry."

"You know what, Dick? I do believe you. I'm just not sure it's enough. But, the reality is, I've known this for years and I still manage to tolerate you, for Logan's sake. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to keep doing that, but not right now. Right now, I've gotta go."

Dick nodded rapidly and opened the car door, sliding out and standing in the open door. "I understand. I'm going. Thanks, Ronnie. I'm gonna find a way to make you see I'm not that guy anymore."

"I already know that," she said, leaning toward him. "I'm not always sure that's enough though. You make sure your kid knows it's not okay and that'll be a start." He nodded and closed her door and she drove away, his slumped form staying in her rear view mirror for much longer than she liked.


	10. Chapter 10

_Warning folks - we're picking up right where we left off so there's still discussion of rape and its aftermath._

* * *

Veronica sat in her car, staring up at the apartment. Her hands were still shaking after the throw down with Dick and she knew she couldn't go inside to Logan and not have him notice that something was up with her. Based on his reaction the night before, it seemed likely that he'd blame the new case and she didn't want that any more than she wanted him to know about Dick.

She pulled out her phone and sent him a text. _Got a work thing. Home late._ She dropped the phone in the seat next to her and backed out of her parking space.

She'd only made it a few blocks away when the phone buzzed with an incoming text.

 _Okay, love you, stay safe. Remember, if you wake me up the right way, I won't even be mad._

She laughed and, at the next red light, texted him back. _Challenge accepted. Love you too._

The light changed and she pulled forward, heading back toward Neptune proper. As she drove, she considered where she could go while she tried to detox from the encounter with Dick. Her dad's house was out of the question. Mac's might be an option; she wouldn't pry, but Veronica thought she'd be able to process better on her own. She was ready to head for Dog Beach when a familiar sign loomed ahead. She grinned and turned into the parking lot of Amy's Ice Cream. Always good for what ails Veronica Mars.

A few bites into her turtle sundae, she knew she'd made a good choice. She was less shaky as she let her mind drift back to Dick. She did believe that he was sorry for drugging Madison's drink, and for playing such a risky game with her safety. She was also convinced that if he knew what his brother had done to her, he'd be sickened by what he'd put in motion.

There was a part of her that had enjoyed his distress over being called out on trying to drug Madison. How rewarding would it be to watch him find out that he'd inadvertently been responsible for drugging Veronica instead? Or even better...finding out the brother he'd goaded had actually taken his suggestion and raped her?

However, the fact was, there was no way she wanted to tell him either of those things. She'd never been able to tell her own father what had happened to her. Why would she want to tell Dick? So he'd feel bad about his part in it? That wouldn't make it stop being true and what would she gain? She'd made the decision long ago to not share Dick's part in what had happened to her and she really wasn't inclined to change that.

She knew the biggest driver of that choice had been not wanting her vulnerability exposed to the world. She'd tried to report what had happened to her the day after and Don Lamb had made it clear what a bad idea that was. After that, the only people to whom she'd revealed herself had been Logan and Wallace. She told Logan when she'd feared he'd been involved. She told Wallace because she trusted him and she'd desperately needed someone. They'd both given her support and love. She knew that if she ever told her father, he would do the same. The thing was, this was no one's business but hers, and she didn't want to share.

She'd lurked on some rape victim support group message boards while at Stanford and she'd been surprised—truthfully, more like shocked—by some of the posters' insistence that they all had a duty as survivors to tell the world what had happened to them so others wouldn't suffer as they had. The venom of some posters against others who had maintained that it was their right to stay silent had driven her away from the message boards and any type of support group. Those debates felt more like further assault than support. She preferred to keep her private business private and no one was going to convince her otherwise.

She knew there was another reason she'd chosen to keep Dick's actions to herself, although she didn't think it had been a conscious decision at the time. If she'd tried to punish Dick's actions, Logan would have learned the truth. That would have led to some extreme retribution at Logan's hands, which might have been rewarding, like Dick's remorse had been earlier in the day, but would likely have meant the end of the only significant relationship in Logan's life, other than the one he had with her. At first glance, that seemed like a choice for Logan's benefit at her own expense. She knew what those vehement posters' reactions would have been to that. _Why are you making decisions about what happened to you for the benefit of a guy?_ On some level, she could see their point, but she cared enough about Logan that she didn't want to be the cause of the loss of his only remaining friend, even if said friend was a douche bag. On top of that, when she considered the matter honestly, she thought there was another aspect to that choice that wasn't quite as selfless.

Freshman year at Hearst, even with extreme-mood-swing Dick drawing Logan's attention away from her, Logan had nearly suffocated her with his love and need. She hadn't been ready for that level of devotion as she tried to work through all of the stressors in her life and she knew that she'd reacted with some poor decisions that year. If Logan hadn't had Dick in his life, there was no telling how things would have turned out. She had no doubt that she still would have run away at the end of the school year but the question was, how much more would she have been running from if Logan had been focused solely on her? She wondered what more she might have done to show him that he couldn't control her if he'd only had her to concentrate on. Rationally, she thought that withholding the truth about Dick to ensure he stayed in Logan's life was almost as much for her benefit as it had been for Logan's. And, if she had outed Dick's role, when she had left Neptune, Logan would have been entirely alone. She was pretty sure he wouldn't have made it through that time if Dick hadn't been there to give him someone who cared if he lived or died. The fact that Logan _had_ gotten through, alive and well, and here now to be a critical part of her life and future happiness, was at least partially because of Dick, and no matter what else she thought about him, she knew she couldn't just forget that.

Veronica scraped up the last of the caramel at the bottom of her dish and licked the spoon clean. Nothing that had happened today had changed the priorities in her life. Logan, her father, Wallace and Mac, her work, Pony. Surprisingly, she realized that Cole and the current version of Dick, who was trying to be a good father, had also assumed some importance to her. There was nothing to be gained and potentially a great deal to be lost, if she decided to tell Dick, or anyone else, what role he had played in what had happened to her almost fourteen years earlier.

"Can I get you anything else?" A teenage girl stood beside her, holding a tray.

"Umm, no, I think I'm done." Veronica pushed her dish toward the edge of the table, smiling up at the server. "Delicious, as always."

"That's good to hear. Ice cream's always what's good for what ails me."

"Did I look like something was ailing me?" Veronica asked, not sure if she was amused or offended that she'd had the exact same thought as she pulled into the parking lot.

The girl shrugged. "You looked a little stressed when you came in. None of my business. Sorry."

"It's cool. I was a little stressed but I have the same philosophy. I'm pretty sure that ice cream's my power food." Veronica looked at the girl more closely. "I'm sorry, do I know you? You look familiar."

"I'm a friend of Cole Casablancas. I came to a couple of parties at his dad's house and you were there."

"Oh, okay, yes, I knew I'd seen you somewhere. I'm Veronica."

"Callie." The girl shifted her tray and held out her hand. Veronica smiled and shook the offered hand. "Well, I'll let you go. Glad the ice cream did its job."

Veronica laughed as she slid out of the booth. "Me too. Have a good night, Callie. I'll probably see you at Cole's next party."

Veronica pulled into her parking space again, feeling much calmer than she had a couple of hours earlier. She felt like she'd considered all the options and she was making the best choice for herself. It was also the best choice for Logan and Cole and, frankly, for Dick, but none of that changed the fact that it was the best decision for her.

She let herself into the apartment and followed the sound of the television to the living room. Logan was on the couch, a pile of paper to his left and another pile on the table to his right. He looked up in confusion.

"I wasn't expecting you so soon," he said. "Figured I could finish this report and then head for bed so you'd be able to wake me up." He frowned. "I was looking forward to it."

"I can go sit out in the car for another couple hours if you'd prefer," she said with a smirk as she bent down to kiss him. "I finished what I was doing sooner than expected and I thought, perhaps wrongly, that you'd be happy to see me."

He laughed. "Of course I'm happy to see you. Just surprised." He looked at the pile to his left. "I've gotta finish these."

"It's cool. I'm gonna get cleaned up and go to bed." She turned to head for the bedroom, pausing before she left the room to look back at him with a smirk. "That puts the waking up duties back on you."

He waggled his eyebrows at her. "I promise not to disappoint."

* * *

Ten days of listening later, Dillon Carter had been arrested again, along with his father and one of Neptune's finest. The Carters were both released on bail fairly quickly, sporting matching ankle monitors. The deputy had a little more difficulty making his bail and had languished for an additional day in lockup. Two additional arrests were made in the sexual assault cases; boys who hadn't been named by the victims but who had been named by Dillon as he attempted to talk himself out of charges. Rolling over on his partners in crime hadn't changed anything for him so far other than, when he showed up at school after being released, he'd gotten jumped behind the gym and had been soundly beaten by parties unknown. Whether that was in retaliation for the original crime or as a result of his implication of the other assailants was not clear and not terribly concerning to anyone other than the Carters. Dillon didn't return to school after that.

In addition to the information about the sexual assault cases, Keith had discovered several other deals being cut for a fee on a variety of other cases. Some involved the same deputy but some did not. Sheriff Langdon was sorting through those discoveries and another deputy had been suspended pending a complete investigation and Keith had told Veronica that the hammer was likely going to be dropped on another in a week or two.

"Don't get me wrong," Veronica said to Logan as they made dinner together a few days after the Carters and the deputy were arrested. "I'm thrilled that we were able to sort through this so the right people end up having to answer for what they did. Those other boys, the ones in the wrong place at the wrong time, I'm glad their names are cleared just like I'm glad the right bad guys are caught. I just know how hard it is to actually punish someone with money in this town." She turned the chicken to brown the other side. "I wouldn't be surprised if Dillon Carter manages to wriggle out of this altogether. The buddy he named will probably get off too. The only one of them who's really at risk is the third kid who's not from the 90909. He'll probably end up holding the bag."

"If he did it, shouldn't you want that?" Logan asked, sliding the pan with the Panko crusted zucchini in to bake.

"Oh yeah, he should get what's coming to him. He just shouldn't be the only one. It would be nice to see them all pay for what they've done." She turned away from the stove to grab the chopped onions and garlic and nearly fell over the dog, who'd been hovering near them in case they dropped anything.

"Pony! Go to bed!" The dog froze, ducking her head as she avoided Veronica's gaze. "Pooooo-ny. GO." She pointed out of the tiny kitchen and Pony skulked away, throwing a reproachful look at Logan as she went.

Veronica shook her head. "She looks at you like she thinks you should make me stop."

"She hasn't lived here long enough. She has no idea that's not possible." Logan smirked at her as he handed her the vegetables.

"Ha ha, very funny." She pulled the chicken out of the pan and dumped the onions and garlic in to sauté. "Anyway. It's nice to see some of Dan Lamb's jerky deputies getting nabbed in this also. Maybe that will scare the other crooked ones straight too."

"Yeah, I'm with you there. I'm not a big fan of some of those guys."

Veronica tipped her head to one side as Logan's arms wrapped around her waist and he kissed her cheek. "That's understandable." They stood together in silence, Logan's chin resting against the top of her head, while Veronica tossed the vegetables around, then layered the chicken over them. She finished with a drizzle of balsamic glaze over the whole thing before putting a lid on the sauté pan.

"Geez, that smells good," he said. "Have I mentioned how happy I am that you learned to cook in the last decade?"

She turned in his arms and put her arms around his neck. "I could always cook. Could you?"

He snorted in derision. "You know I couldn't. I had housekeepers and cooks pretty much all of my life and then moved into a hotel suite. Not a lot of opportunity for cooking. At least I knew how to toast my own pop tarts."

"Ooh, it's a wonder the Iron Chef never called." She stretched up to kiss him as the timer on the zucchini sounded. "Yay, zucchini's done; time to eat."

* * *

With the dinner dishes done, Veronica sat down at her laptop to do research on a case while Logan stretched out on the couch, one arm trailing off the side as he stroked the dog's head.

"Oh, almost forgot, I'm going to Dick's on Saturday morning to surf. He asked if we wanted to grill in the afternoon, once we're done surfing."

Veronica looked over her shoulder at his, eyebrows scrunched low. "Dick invited me? I'd think he'd be enjoying his alone time with you."

"He comes with a kid attached these days, remember? We don't get a lot of alone time." He waggled his eyebrows at her and she rolled her eyes and turned back to her computer. "Plus, he understands that if he wants me somewhere, he has to be ready to invite you too. He does that pretty automatically these days." He sat up, swinging his legs around to plant his feet on the floor. "So? You blew us off last week. How about this week?"

She sighed and turned back toward him again. "I was working. I didn't blow you off."

"I know, Veronica." He stood and moved to stand behind her chair, running his hands up and down her arms. "I'm just messing around. And I do know that things can come up last minute that can screw up your plans." He kissed her head. "So, barring a last minute _thing_ , do you want to plan to meet me at Dick's on Saturday? I know that he's expecting Mac. You can catch a ride over with her and then we won't have both cars."

"Barring a last minute thing, yes, I'll get Mac to pick me and Pony up and we'll join you for lunch, or dinner, or whatever, on Dick's beach. Satisfied?"

He chuckled and continued to stroke her arms. "As satisfied as I get when you're this dressed."

She scoffed. "Not true. I've seen you very satisfied when _I'm_ this dressed."

"Okay, fine. Point taken. What I meant to say was, as satisfied as I get when we're _both_ this dressed."

"Now that I can believe," she said.

* * *

Mac opened the front door and Pony dashed inside. She'd been straining against the leash from the moment her feet landed on Dick's driveway and once they were on the porch, Veronica simply dropped the leash and let her barrel into the house. It was easier than getting her arm pulled out of its socket.

"I think she might be happy to be here," Mac said with a grin.

"Ya think?" Veronica followed her dog into the house, then stopped in surprise at the sight of Pony growling at a strange man in swim trunks and a tank top. He was backing away, until he bumped into the kitchen island, and then stood frozen, hands out slightly in front of him.

"Think you can call your dog off?" he said when he noticed Veronica.

"Think you can tell us who you are?" she answered.

"Nathan Wills. I was a friend of Cole's mom. I've been out with the rest of them on the beach and just came in for some more bottles of water and..." he gestured at Pony. "She's all growl, no bite, right?" He took a step forward and Pony's growl got louder and she showed her teeth.

"I don't actually know. She's never hated someone on sight before," Veronica said in the teasing voice she saved for bad guys as she reached into her bag to pull out her taser. "Pony, chill." The volume of the growl decreased but the dog stayed where she was. "Mac. Is this someone we know?"

"I know the name. He was Maggie's boyfriend in San Francisco." Mac edged around behind Veronica. "I'll go find the guys." She was moving toward the back door when suddenly Dick was there.

"What the hell?" he cried. "Ronnie, what are you and the mutt up too?" He walked across the room and bumped his leg into the dog. "Yo, Muttley, knock it off."

Pony gave one more growl, but backed away a few steps, then turned to sit next to Veronica, leaning against her legs. Veronica dropped the taser in her bag and crouched down, putting her arm around the dog and scratching her head. "Why don't you introduce us to your new friend, Dick."

Dick grinned at her. "I guess I better." He glanced toward the strange man, then gestured around the room as he spoke. "Nathan Wills...Veronica Mars...Mac MacKenzie...Pony Mars-Echolls. Nathan was a friend of Maggie's and he came into town with her mom this morning. She's having lunch with some old friends of hers so Nathan's hanging with us." He looked at Veronica, eyebrows raised. "Will that do?" She sneered at him and he laughed. "Okay, so let's try not to bite each other...hmm? There's a bad first meeting vibe in here." He walked into the kitchen and rooted in the refrigerator, coming up with several bottles of water. "Come on, dude, let's get back out there." He strode across the room, pausing next to Veronica and Pony. "You can't come here anymore if you try to bite my guests."

"I'll do my best," Veronica answered, making him laugh.

"I meant the dog. I wouldn't dare try to stop you from biting anyone. Good way to lose my hand." He walked outside and Nathan took a step to follow, mindful eyes still on the dog.

"Umm, nice to meet everyone. I guess we're getting back out there." He walked quickly past them, closing the door firmly behind him as he stepped outside.

"Wow. That got a little intense," Mac said. "I wasn't expecting that."

"I've never seen her get like that," Veronica answered as she stood up. Pony's usual first meeting demeanor was more along the lines of 'can we snuggle?'.

"Strange person someplace she didn't expect anyone strange. I don't think it has to mean anything nefarious about the guy."

"I guess not." She didn't necessarily agree, but shrugged and dropped her bag on the table before heading into the kitchen to grab her own water bottle. "Want one?"

"Sure, why not?" Mac followed her and accepted the bottle from her hand. "It looks like the goobers must still be surfing. Wanna go out and join them?"

"To surf? No." She knew that wasn't what Mac was suggesting but she was still a little on edge and snarky comments were just so easy when she felt that way.

"No, not to surf, grumpy. Just to hang out. Come on, we're going. Someone needs to jolt you out of this mood and my guess is Logan's got the best chance."

* * *

Veronica leaned into Logan's side and he draped his arm around her shoulders. They'd been listening to Nathan tell stories about a younger Cole during lunch. Nathan seemed like a nice enough guy. Pony had latched onto Cole as soon as she spied him and she'd followed him down the beach when Cole excused himself after lunch. The dog still hadn't warmed up to the newcomer but the fur along her back had finally flattened again.

Dick was laughing hysterically at some story Nathan was telling but Veronica wasn't really listening. She smiled when the others did, laughing occasionally, but her brain felt busy, although nothing in particular was distracting her. She reached for her glass, took a drink of her orange soda, and leaned back against Logan again.

"You okay?" he murmured in her ear.

She nodded up at him, smiling in reassurance as she noticed the worried look in his eye. "I'm fine," she whispered. "I think I'm gonna take a quick walk. Don't worry. I'll be back shortly."

"Need me to come with you?" he asked and she shook her head.

"Nope, just need to clear my head." She stood up, leaning in to brush her lips against his. "I'll be back in a while," she announced to the group and headed for the water.

She walked into the gentle surf and stood, letting the water pull the sand out from under her ancient Tevas. When the water was nearly to her knees, she pulled her feet out of the soupy hole she was in and trekked down the shoreline, still in ankle deep water.

She'd had a weird couple of weeks, immersed in the GHB case. She'd seen Logan's worried glances when he thought she wasn't looking and she'd made it a point to stay cool and upbeat without going too far the other way so he'd be sure she was playacting. Her dad had been so far down the rabbit hole of listening in on the deputies' conversation that he was completely oblivious to her and she was glad of that. It would have been exhausting to bluff against him all day, every day. At least with Logan, she mostly saw him in the evening after they'd both had long days and it was easy to find other distractions alone in their apartment at night.

Despite what she'd claimed to Logan earlier in the week, she had kinda blown them off the weekend before, not quite ready to spend time with Dick again. With a couple weeks distance since their conversation, where she didn't exactly give him all the facts, she was feeling pretty solid again about her choices to keep some information to herself. Walking into the beach house to find the stranger cowering from Pony had unsettled her more than she thought was normal but she thought it was probably just a culmination of everything that had left her with an unexpected edge.

Her quiet walk came to an abrupt halt when Pony suddenly appeared beside her, jumping in a circle around her, splashing water everywhere.

"Pony, geez, settle down." She leaned down toward her cautiously, not wanting to get an over-excited dog head in the mouth when she reached over too far. "Where's Cole? Did you eat him?" She looked around and saw the boy sitting in the dry sand higher up on the beach. She started in his direction.

"Am I interrupting your private reverie?" she called. "I can keep walking if you prefer."

"Nah, I'm just sitting."

"Tired of hearing about what a darling child you were?" She plunked down on the sand next to him, tilting her face up to the sun and closing her eyes. The very wet Pony flopped down between them.

Cole scoffed. "Whatever."

Veronica lowered her face to look at him. "Was that, like, a teenager-ism? Dismissive whatevers? I have a vague recollection of those myself but I don't remember hearing them from you yet."

He sighed and shook his head. "Sorry."

"Hey, don't be. I think it's your teenager obligation to give some attitude at least." He chuckled. "So, wanna talk about whatever's turned you sullen?" She tilted her head at him. "I have fairly good problem solving skills."

"It's nothing. I just don't get why Nathan's here acting like he's missed me so much and had to come visit. It's stupid. He never liked me." He reached over to scratch Pony's head and she rolled toward him, coating herself in sand in the process. "When I first moved up with Maggie, he was always super nice. Making like we were this happy little family. I thought it was kinda dumb but she was my sister, that's what I thought back then, and even if I thought she could do better, it was her choice who she wanted to date. Then when she told me she was my mom, he started trying to act like he was my dad. Started telling her that she wasn't being strict enough, that I was going to knock someone up and ruin my life like hers had been, if she didn't watch it. They started fighting all the time and then he was just gone. Not sure who broke up with who. She was sad but she said we were better off with just the two of us. That we'd face whatever life sent our way together and we'd be better for it." He ducked his head, then looked up at Veronica, his eyes teary and his cheeks pink.

"Sounds like she loved you very much," Veronica said, feeling a little teary herself.

"She did. I know she did." He sighed. "But she had her accident about a month later so I had to face what life sent our way without her."

Veronica swallowed hard; the lump that formed in her throat was nearly choking. "Oh, Cole, I'm so sorry." He nodded but didn't speak. Pony pushed back onto her feet, seeming to feel the tension, and licked Cole's face. His laugh sounded a little soggy as he wrapped his arms around her neck and hid his face in her sandy coat.

Veronica sat uncomfortably, with absolutely no idea what to say. She could hear Cole's long, deep breaths against the dog and she squirmed, not sure what to do. When he sat up, his face as damp and sandy as the dog, she smiled hesitantly at him.

"Sorry," he said. "I don't get like this normally, but Nathan—he bugs me."

"Pony apparently feels the same way," Veronica said. "Did your dad tell you what happened when we got here?"

"All I heard was Pony was growling and you were about to bite. That's what he told Logan."

She snorted and shook her head. "Yeah, that sounds like a Dick interpretation."

"You guys aren't really friends. He's friends with Mac, and obviously with Logan, but you just kinda tolerate him."

She wrinkled her nose, feeling guilty. "We don't always see eye to eye, but we have some important things in common so we mostly peacefully co-exist." She smiled at Cole. "Honestly, I like Dick as your dad way better than I ever liked him before you came along."

"The last time you were here, you guys were fighting."

"That was about old stuff, from way before you were part of his life. Dick and I are always gonna have rough patches; I think that's inevitable. Mostly though, these days, we're okay." She looked back down the beach toward the house. "I think I'm gonna head back. Wanna come with?"

Cole sighed. "Yeah, I guess."

"You don't have to if you want to stay here."

"No, it's fine. I just hope he leaves soon." Cole stood and brushed himself off before offering a hand to Veronica. She grabbed it and pulled herself up, then began to brush sand off herself as well.

"Maybe we can get Pony to growl at him some more," she suggested and Cole laughed as they headed back toward the house.

* * *

 _Extra loud shout out to KMD0107 this week— **WOOT!**_

 _And birthday wishes to JoeCool0701's son_ _—H_ _appy Birthday T!_


	11. Chapter 11

_And...we're back...to our regular programming._

* * *

Veronica heard Mac's keys drop onto her desk and made her way into the lobby. "Hey, Q. All ready for another week of mayhem and deceit?"

"I thought your dad told you to stop prank calling Vinnie Van Lowe."

Veronica shrugged. "You can't think he meant that."

"Maybe not," Mac admitted.

"I did," Keith bellowed from his office.

Veronica wrinkled her nose and gave Mac a tiny headshake.

"Okay, then," Veronica said, "ignoring the VVL issue for now, I think we need to do some kind of background investigation on Maggie's ex."

"What?" Mac asked, her voice steeped with skepticism. "Why? He came around once and we're probably never going to see him again. Why do we need his background?"

"Why'd he show up in the first place? He and Maggie had broken up before she died. Why is he coming around to see an ex-girlfriend's kid who he never liked? Seems fishy to me. And we don't know that he won't come around again. I just think having a little knowledge is a good thing."

Mac rolled her eyes. "Oh. A little knowledge is what you're looking for. Uh huh." She sat in her chair and tucked her bag into her drawer. "Anyway, didn't you hear him say they got back together a couple days before she died?"

"What? No."

"Maybe it was when you were on your walk. Yeah, they not only got back together, they started talking about getting married. He got all teary when he was talking about it."

Veronica's mouth twisted in distaste. "He says they were back together? Cole didn't know anything about them getting back together."

"Because no one's ever re-kindled a relationship and kept quiet about it," Keith said sarcastically as he appeared in his doorway, and Mac slapped her hand over her mouth, in an unsuccessful attempt to keep the guffaw from bursting out of her.

"Yeah, that's super funny," Veronica replied dryly.

"I'm just saying that they might have decided to stay quiet for a while, until they were sure things were going to work out," Keith said. "And you don't need a background on Nathan Wills, since I assume that's who you're talking about. He's a fine, upstanding citizen. On paper at least. That's the extent of my knowledge."

"Why do you have any knowledge?" Veronica asked. "Why do you even know this guy's name? We only met him on Saturday."

"I am not at liberty to discuss the specifics of how I came to be in possession of this information. Just trust me. Don't waste your time."

Veronica turned to Mac. "Someone already hired him to check on the guy."

"No duh," Mac replied and Keith snorted a laugh.

Veronica sighed and turned back to her dad. "So, the question is, was it Dick, or Mrs. Tierney? And what prompted it?"

"I am not at liberty to—"

"Yeah, yeah, save the speech for someone who cares. Mac, can you pull up an accounts payable listing for the last month...actually, the last two months. I wanna see our list of clients. That's not confidential within the firm." She smirked at her father, feeling superior.

"Don't waste your time there either, Mac. This was a little work between friends. There's no record in the AP system. Actually, the usual fee was donated to Balboa County's Youth Outreach program in Mars Investigations' name. I put the receipt on your desk for the tax file. Did you see it?" Mac nodded, smiling.

"It's gotta be Mrs. Tierney," Veronica said emphatically. "Work between friends? That can't mean Dick. And a donation when you're already getting free services? That's definitely not Dick."

Keith shrugged noncommittally. "You know him better than I do, honey."

"Uh uh." Both Marses turned to look at Mac. "My money's on Dick. Don't you remember that day, Veronica, when he was in the office and they both refused to tell us why? And I'm pretty sure that Youth Outreach is Dick's charity of choice. They got him on the phone one day when we were working on Cole's paternity investigation and I heard him donate $2500 for some bowling event. He seemed to know the person who called him and the last thing he said was 'let me know if you're short, I'll make up the difference'. Nope, Dick initiated this investigation and the boss here comped him the work." She looked at Keith expectantly. "So? How'd I do?"

He nodded with a smile. "Pretty good analysis. We may make an investigator out of you yet."

"What was Dick worried about?" Veronica asked.

"I am not at liberty—" Keith began, then he stopped and raised his eyebrows at her. "Actually, it's fine. At this point, there's no reason not to. When Nathan sent a birthday card to Cole, Dick noticed that Cole's reaction was a little out of the norm. He got concerned about whether Cole had a reason to dislike Nathan and Logan sent him to me."

"Logan sent him to you?" Veronica exploded. "Why not to me?"

"Or me?" Mac interjected. "Didn't I do a good enough job with the research into the Tierneys?"

"They were trying to be considerate of your feelings. Both of you." Keith gave them a serious look. "Do not hassle either of them about coming to me." He looked sternly at Veronica. "I mean it, Veronica."

Veronica tapped her fingers against her lips. "Dick was worried about something like what happened to Cassidy." She saw Mac jerk back in her chair at her words, her eyes squeezing shut. "And he didn't want any reminders for Mac about his brother. And Logan probably thought the same thing about me." She looked sympathetically at her friend. "You okay?"

Mac's eyes opened and they were shiny. "Yeah, I'm fine." She turned to look at Keith. "There was nothing to support Dick's concerns. Right? You said Nathan was an upstanding citizen."

"There's nothing that I could find in a routine background check that gave me reason to be concerned. That's what I told Dick. There are never any guarantees but if Cole doesn't care for the man, I think it was something less..."

"Horrifying," Veronica supplied her choice of word for him. "From what Cole said to me on Saturday, he didn't think that Nathan was good enough for his mom and it sounded like Nathan was kinda disrespectful of her parenting choices. As far as Cole knew, they were broken up and Maggie was sad but she knew it was for the best."

"I told Dick that I thought there was a good chance that it was something like that. Children of single parents don't always appreciate it when their parent finds a partner."

Veronica laughed bitterly. "I certainly resembled that remark after you became a single parent." She looked at Keith; her brow furrowing. "You can't blame me for your lack of dates now though. When was the last time you went out with anyone?"

"Not really your concern, daughter," he said.

"I think Wallace's mom's still single," she said in a teasing voice and was relieved when Mac smiled at her.

"You and Alicia didn't exactly mesh," Keith reminded her and she shook her finger at him.

" _I_ don't plan to date her. Logan doesn't like to share. And of the girlfriends you had when I lived here, she was the best." He rolled his eyes. "If you recall, I got her to come sit with you in the hospital the night Aaron was arrested. We were practically besties."

"If I want to date, I will, okay? So lay off." He drummed his fingers on Mac's desk, then turned to walk back to his office.

"Okay, fine. So, about Nathan."

He turned back toward her. "Not satisfied with the clean paper trail?"

She shrugged. "Well...I guess if you are, then I probably am. I just..." She grimaced. "Pony really hated him."

Mac nodded. "Yeah, that was weird. She went a little nuts on him. I've never seen her get like that. But, he was an unexpected person in a place where she usually feels safe. I don't know about dogs but with people, that can be startling enough to cause a weird reaction."

Keith looked back and forth between them. "Are you suggesting that Pony is some kind of bad guy detector? If that's the case, I should take her down to the station and let Marcia use her to sniff out which of the remaining deputies are crooked."

"Dad, don't make fun. We were just mentioning what an unexpected reaction she had. You know how she is. She'd probably let a burglar make off with Logan's big screen if the guy would just scratch her belly for a bit before he left. She really went off on Nathan. He thought she was going to attack him and I wasn't terribly sure that he was wrong."

"Tell you what. Nathan came back clean. This time, I'll look at Maggie."

"What will that show?" Mac asked.

"Well, if Maggie was having trouble with Nathan, or anyone, she might have gone in and talked to a police officer," Keith said, coming back to lean against Mac's desk. "Sometimes people come in to the police department to ask questions about how to handle a situation. If they don't give any names, there wouldn't be any record in a search for Nathan. But there might be a report of the conversation under her name. We won't know for sure who she was talking about if we do find something but it gives us someplace to start at least."

Mac nodded thoughtfully and looked at Veronica. "Sounds like a good idea, Bond. If there's nothing, then we'll just agree that Pony just jumped to some erroneous conclusions and overreacted on Saturday. Okay?"

"Like mother, like daughter," Keith stage whispered and Mac giggled. Veronica sneered at them.

"You guys are like a comedy act. You could probably take that show on the road." Mac's giggles deepened to a full laugh. "So, anyway, yes, I'll check into Maggie."

"No, it's fine. I started this, I'll finish. I'll let you know what I find," Keith said, pushing himself away from the desk and heading for his office again.

"Thanks, Dad," Veronica called as she watched him go back to his office. When his door closed, she looked at Mac. "Okay then. Handled."

"Yeah," Mac agreed. "You know, it's pretty impressive, what Dick did. I didn't realize that he'd turned into such a dad."

"I did," Veronica said, "although it's sometimes hard to remember. I'm also very pleasantly surprised that he thought to keep you out of the investigation he wanted to do." She widened her eyes and raised her eyebrows. "It's official. Cole is the best thing that ever happened to Dick Casablancas."

"I think we all agree on that," Mac said and she turned toward her monitors, powering up the screens.

* * *

Mac was deep into a mess of financial transactions, trying to sort down to the original source of the money, when the bell over the door sounded and a tall man entered the office. He was handsome in the bland fashion of so many of the 09ers and he was also vaguely familiar. Mac was about to greet him when Veronica bounced out of her office.

"Casey!" she cried, greeting him with a hug. The name was the trigger Mac needed: Casey Gant, a year ahead of them at Neptune High and definitely an 09er. She glanced at the calendar and noticed for the first time that Casey Gant was the name of Veronica's 10:30 AM appointment.

Casey took a step back from Veronica, with his hands still resting on her arms as he smiled down at her. "This is a much warmer welcome that I had been expecting. How are you, Veronica?"

"I'm good," she answered. "It was a really pleasant surprise when I saw your name on my appointments for today. It's been a really long time. How've you been?" She turned out of Casey's grasp and walked toward her office. Before they went inside, she stopped and looked at Mac, who was watching them with amusement. "Mac, did you know Casey?"

"No, we never met. Of course I knew OF Casey Gant but..."

"Well, now you've met. Mac, this is Casey Gant, would-be hippie and publishing magnate. And Casey, this is Mac MacKenzie. Another Neptune High refugee. She's our resident computer guru and all-around know-it-all."

"That's impossible," Mac said with a smirk as she rose from her desk and stretched her hand toward Casey. "You're the one who knows it all."

Casey laughed and shook Mac's hand. "Great to meet you, Mac. If Veronica's calling you a know-it-all, you must be. I'm pretty sure she doesn't say that about very many people."

"She's just trying to butter me up so when she locks herself out of her computer later, I'll get her back in." They both laughed as Veronica rolled her eyes. "I am intrigued by the would-be hippie description. She calls me a hippie sometimes when she's griping about my vegan food. Is this the same thing?"

"No, she's just making fun of the way we got to know each other. I started hanging out with a commune in my senior year at Neptune High. My parents were convinced it was a cult—"

"It wasn't," Veronica interjected.

"No, it really wasn't but they were concerned I might let someone other than them influence what I did with the family fortune. It all mostly worked out in the end." He smiled warmly at Veronica.

"I don't think you really made an appointment to talk about old times," she said. "Shall we?" She gestured to her office.

"Sure. Nice to meet you, Mac. Hope we run into each other again." Veronica led him into her office and closed the door.

* * *

wenty-five minutes later, Veronica had the details of Casey's case and an initial plan of attack.

"As soon as we find something out, we'll let you know," she said as she led him back into the lobby.

"Sounds good. And tomorrow night?"

"Absolutely. Dinner tomorrow. Logan will be excited to see you."

"It'll be fun but..." Casey looked at Mac who was engrossed in her work. "Hey, Mac?" She looked up. "Any chance you're available tomorrow night to go to dinner with me and Logan and Veronica? You'll be keeping me from feeling like a third wheel. Four's company, three's awkward."

"Yeah, Mac, come with us," Veronica said. "It'll be fun. Just dinner and catching up."

"I don't know. I don't want to horn in."

"No, come on. We'll have fun. You don't have a date or something already, do you?" Casey looked down at her with a hopeful smile.

"No, no date. Sure, I'll come. Thanks for including me."

"Awesome," Casey said. "I guess I'll see you ladies tomorrow. Let me know if you find anything on my missing author." With a quick wave, he left the office.

"He's got a missing author?" Mac asked.

"He does." Veronica leaned against Mac's desk, waving a sheet of paper in her hand. "This guy's had a very successful series of mysteries under a pseudonym and he's developing a new series. Gant Publishing is trying to keep him but another publishing house is trying to outbid them. Casey thought they had a deal and then the guy disappeared."

"He doesn't suspect foul play, does he? Just maybe a little corporate intrigue?"

Veronica nodded. "No, he doesn't think anything bad has happened to the guy. He's just wants to know if the guy went AWOL on his own or if the other publishing house has whisked him off somewhere to court him." She plunked the sheet of paper she'd been clutching in front of Mac. "Got time to hunt down credit cards?" she asked.

"Sure." Mac smoothed the paper against the desk. "If this guy is using his own cards wherever he is, we'll know before too long."

"Good. I knew this part would be pretty easy." Veronica pushed upright and headed to her office. "Thanks for the help, Q."

* * *

Logan sighed as the phone continued to ring. He was not looking forward to this conversation.

 _"Hey! Where are you?"_ Veronica's breathless voice echoed through the phone. _"I thought you'd be home by now."_

"Yeah, I did too, but things haven't gone as planned today. It'll probably be after midnight before I get home."

 _"Midnight?"_ Veronica's disappointment came through the line clearly.

"And that isn't all."

 _"Uh oh."_

"Yeah, we're working so late because it's all hands on deck while we get ready to get underway."

 _"Wait. What?"_

"Mid cycle mini deployment. It's a readiness exercise. How ready are we to ship out in the event of a crisis. It's only two weeks but we leave in three days." Logan ran his hand over the top of his head. The silence on the other end of the phone was deafening. "Veronica? Are you there?"

 _"Yeah, I'm here. But you're not."_

"I know and I am so sorry about that. It's only a couple weeks though. Then I'll be back and, barring an actual crisis, I'll be in your hair for another eight months or so before...you know, an actual deployment."

There was a gasp on the other end of the line. _"Eight months? That's all._ "

"Yeah, 'fraid so. Look, I've gotta go. I'll be home as soon as I can get there. I love you."

* * *

"I love you too."

She knew she was expressing her feelings to dead air and thumbed the disconnect button. Logan was leaving for two weeks in three days and if those three days were anything like today, he would hardly be here before he was gone. "It's not fair," she mumbled to the empty apartment.

She went into the kitchen and got Pony her dinner, then walked into the living room, curling into the corner of the couch. This was completely unexpected news. Eight months until his next full deployment was not new information but she deliberately didn't count the months to see how long she could keep him until February rolled around again. That was just a target anyway; Logan's next cruise could be anytime, although they usually had a rough idea and the actual dates would be known closer to a month in advance.

Veronica settled farther down into the couch, her head resting on the arm as she hugged a throw pillow tightly against her chest. Pony came out of the kitchen and walked over to sit next to the couch. Veronica unwrapped one arm from around the pillow and rubbed her knuckles behind the dog's ear.

"Just gonna be you and me for a while again," she said. "What kinda trouble do you think we can get into without Daddy around?"

Pony whined when she heard the word 'Daddy'.

"Yep, he's taking off again. Not for very long this time. Next time will be longer." She sat up again and patted the cushion next to her. Pony jumped up immediately and licked Veronica's face.

"Ugh, no, no licking, I'm not that sad." She put her arm around the dog and cuddled into her. "All right. We need a plan." She thought about what she had scheduled over the next couple of weeks. Maybe she'd get lucky and Casey's author would turn out to be being held captive against his will someplace. That would be a good distraction. "Oh, ugh, it's the holiday weekend too. More time to hang around here without him. Stupid Navy."

Pony licked her arm this time and Veronica laughed. "It's rough when your main forms of communication involve slobber, huh, girl?" Pony yipped in response. "That was how Dick used to be too, so maybe there's hope for you." She leaned her head against the dog's and sighed. "I'm getting this out of my system before he gets home tonight. This mopey thing is not the way Veronica Mars acts."

She ruffled her fingers down the dog's side, then, Pony suddenly jerked away from her and leapt off the couch. Veronica stared after her with a frown, then there was a pounding on the door. Veronica stood up and headed that direction, noting that Pony was already there, jumping around excitedly. She opened the door and shook her head.

"I gave at the office," she said to the pair at the door.

"Gave what, Ronnie?" Dick asked. "No one wants anything from ya. We're here to cheer you up." He nodded, looking very serious. Veronica looked down at Cole who was crouched next to Pony, letting her lick his face.

Veronica shuddered and looked back at Dick. "Why exactly do I need cheering up?"

"Come on, you don't hafta be brave with us. Logan called and told us about this last minute cruise thingie, which sucks by the way, and wanted us to come over and take you to get some dinner so you wouldn't be alone." Dick paused. "Not sure if we've gotta feed you every night he's gone but he definitely said tonight. So come on, Rons, let's go."

"All right. I'll go. No reason to just stay here." She looked down at Pony. "Where are we going?"

"Wherever you want."

"Okay, we're going to Amy's. Then we can sit outside so Pony can come too." She turned back to grab the leash and a sweater.

"I think the point was to get you dinner so you didn't just eat ice cream," Dick said doubtfully but Veronica shook her head.

"No, Logan knows that dessert for dinner is a perfectly viable nutritional option."

Dick continued to look dubious. "I'm pretty sure it's not."

"She's a grown-up, Dad. If she wants ice cream for dinner, then let her have it." Cole held his hand out and Veronica gave him the leash.

"Listen to your son, Dick. He's wise beyond his years."

* * *

A couple hours later, Dick and Veronica sat on Amy's patio, Pony under the table, and Cole inside leaning on the counter talking to his friend Callie.

"We can't have ice cream every night," Dick said. "It's not healthy. You can't tell me it is."

"Don't worry, you're not going to have to take care of me every day for the next two weeks. It was nice of you guys to come out but I am an adult. I can get along by myself, I promise."

"I know that. I just also know how much it sucks when he leaves," Dick said with a sigh. "Stupid Navy."

Veronica laughed. "I said the same thing to Pony right before you guys came by. But he loves it, so the rest of us just have to suck it up."

"Well, this weekend, party at my house. All three days, straight through even, if you want. We can cheer each other up. Invite Wally and Mac-a-roni and whoever else you know." He looked at her quizzically. "Do you know anyone else?"

She laughed again. "I know lots of people. That isn't the right question. It's whether I want to spend time with anyone else. And usually, the answer is no." She considered for a minute. "Do you ever see Casey Gant anymore?"

"Not for quite a while. Why?"

"Mac and I are having dinner with him tomorrow. Logan was supposed to come but I'm guessing he'll be tied up in readiness prep. Should I invite him to come to your house this weekend?"

Dick looked at her with his eyebrows drawn together in suspicion. "Was it a double date? Are he and Mac..."

"They met for the first time today. He just asked her to come along so he wasn't a third wheel with me and Logan. I don't know what he thought was going to happen. We disappear under the table during dinner?"

"That's probably not impossible."

She scoffed. "Yeah, it is pretty much impossible." She leaned toward the table, planting her elbow and resting her chin in her hand. "Why are you asking about Mac and Casey anyway?"

"No reason," he said. His lack of eye contact made him look evasive and she fought her amusement. "Just curious, Ronnie. You, of all people, certainly know that feeling."

"I'll give you that." They grinned at each other, then looked up when Cole and Callie walked up and sat down.

"Hey Dad, Callie's shift is over, do you think we can give her a ride home? It'll save her mom having to come get her."

"Sure, why not," Dick replied. Cole grinned and the girl pulled out her phone and started to text. "You about ready, Rons?"

"Yeah, it's getting chilly out here, even with the sweater." She looked at Cole. "Don't you have a sweatshirt or something? I'd think you'd be freezing in just that tee shirt."

"I looked for my hoodie before we came to your house but I couldn't find it," Cole answered. "I'm fine. I don't get cold that easy."

"Well I do and looking at you is making me shiver." She reached down to unloop the leash from the table leg. "Come on, Pony, time to go home."

Dick drove Callie home first and Cole got out to walk with her to her door.

"Is this like a date?" Veronica asked, looking down the front walk where the pair had disappeared. The front door was out of view.

"You and me? No." Dick smirked at her. "Oohhhh...you meant Cole and Callie. I have no idea. I've given him all the lectures, and he usually says, 'yeah, Dad, I know', and then he's talking about a different girl every day it seems like. I just keep telling him that he can talk to me about anything, and if he's not comfortable with that, we've got Logan, and you, and Mac, and even your dad. He's like Super Dad."

"Speaking of my super dad...he didn't exactly tell us on purpose but...Mac and I know about the background check that you had him do on Nathan."

The amusement on Dick's face fell away. "I didn't want you guys being bothered with that."

"I know, and I really appreciate that you even considered that. You really surprised me, Dick."

"Why'd he tell you? He said he wouldn't."

Veronica wrinkled her nose and huffed a sigh. "Well, I wasn't really sure about the guy, Nathan I mean, so I came in this morning planning to do some checks on him. Dad told us not to and then he had to tell us why. That surprised me too, Dick. I'm not sure how long it's gonna take before I just accept that you really are a good dad and stop being shocked every time I see more evidence of it." She chuckled. "That probably sounds insulting but you've got to realize, I had never pictured you as a parent before Cole turned up."

"You and me both, sister." He raised his hand and she high-fived him with a laugh. "Okay, I'm going against your dad's advice here. Hope I don't die regretting it." He took a deep breath. "I never really saw you as a parent either before Cole. Now I'm constantly after your boy to knock you up."

"What?" Veronica shouted.

"Yeah, we missed the little kid stages with Cole. To get all that stuff, it's gonna have to be a kid you squeeze out." He drew his hand across his brow in an exaggerated movement. "Phew. Got it out and you haven't killed me. Excellent."

"Not yet I haven't. Give me a minute. What does my dad have to do with this?"

"Oh, I told him that I've been telling Logan that he needs to get you pregnant—"

"You said that to my dad?" she shrieked.

"—and he said I should probably mind my own business." Dick nodded knowingly at her. "He didn't get mad. He was cool about it. I'm pretty sure he's looking for grandkids here pretty soon too."

"I can't believe you talked to my dad about me getting pregnant."

"Yeah, no big. I told you he was Super Dad. What Super Dad doesn't want to be a Super Grandpa?"

Veronica's hands flew up into her hair as she banged the back of her head against the headrest. "I cannot believe you."

"What?" The back door opened then and Cole climbed in.

"Sorry that took so long. I was meeting her mom and dad." He buckled his seatbelt and Dick pulled away from the house.

"Don't you think Logan and Veronica should have a kid?" Dick asked and Veronica banged her head back again.

"I think that's kinda up to them," Cole answered.

"Thank you!" Veronica said emphatically.

"But it'll be fun once it happens." He leaned forward to look earnestly at Veronica. "It'd be great if you could try and do it before I leave for college."

* * *

Veronica was sleeping restlessly so when the mattress shifted and a body scooted up behind her, she immediately rolled over into Logan's arms. He pulled her snugly against him and buried his face in her neck.

"I am so sorry," he whispered into her skin.

"Don't be. It's your job. I don't want you feeling bad about it." She moved her head enough to kiss his temple and then shifted a little more to nibble on his ear. "Come on, quit hiding."

He pulled back and looked at her. His sad eyes made her frown.

"Really, Logan, I mean it. We're gonna be fine, like we were the last time. This is your job. My job has been known to be somewhat demanding at times and that can mean that we don't always get to do what we want. It's called adulting, Logan. Get over it."

"It's not just feeling bad for leaving you here, it's about having to be away from you too. I hate that."

"I'm not a fan," she agreed. "But it is what it is. We're gonna be fine." She stretched up and brushed her lips against his and he tightened his arms around her as they kissed. When she pulled away, he looked more relaxed.

"I expected you to be more upset," he said, running his hand over her back. "You sounded kinda bad on the phone."

Yeah, I'm sorry. You caught me so off-guard. Pony and I may have pouted for a while—" he chuckled "—but then your rescue squad showed up and I stopped wallowing. Thanks for sending the assist."

"Anytime. I didn't want you to be alone." He kissed her again. "Did you make them eat ice cream for dinner?"

"How'd you know?" she demanded, laughing. He laughed back at her and kissed her neck.

"If you were pouting, Amy's seems like a likely destination." He rolled onto his back and pulled her with him. She settled against his chest and he continued to run his hands along her back in lengthening strokes until his hands cupped her ass. "So, it's pretty late. I should probably let you go back to sleep."

Veronica rolled her eyes at him. "Unless you want to see some serious pouting over the next three days, Lieutenant, I suggest that you put that ridiculous thought right out of your head. If you're gonna leave me for two weeks, you need to do your very best when you are here to burn into my brain exactly what I've got to look forward to once you come home to me again."

The tender look on his face transformed into a lascivious grin. "Aye aye, ma'am. Brain burning, coming right up."


	12. Chapter 12

"All right, Lieutenant Echolls, here's Ms. Mars' visitor pass." The gate guard handed Logan a badge on a lanyard and leaned down enough to look past him into the car to address Veronica. "Be sure you get trade the badge back for your ID back when you leave."

Veronica nodded. "I will, thank you." She took the pass from Logan and hung it around her neck.

"All right then." The guard took a step back, straightened, and saluted Logan. "Safe travels, sir."

Logan returned the salute. "Thanks, Jensen."

Veronica turned in her seat as Logan drove onto the base, curling her legs under her as she watched him. "That always seems so weird to me. I suppose you're used to it."

"After a while, yeah, it gets to be the usual." He smiled at her and reached for her hand. "The first few months of it were a little surreal." He kissed her knuckles, then released her hand for the gear shift.

"I bet." She settled into the seat, watching him. He glanced over and narrowed his eyes at her.

"What?"

"Just soaking you in while I've got the chance," she answered. "Why do you think I got up at this ungodly hour to come with you this morning?"

"Umm, so you could keep my car while I'm gone?"

She glared at him. "Logan."

"No?"

"No."

They pulled into a parking spot behind a long, low building and Logan shut the car off.

"We're here," he said quietly.

"I kinda assumed," she said, trying to inject some levity but she wasn't sure she'd been successful. He shifted in his seat to face her and reached for her hands.

"So, I've got a few minutes before I need to head in but I can't exactly drag you into the back seat." He snapped his fingers in an 'aw shucks' gesture and she laughed. "So talk to me instead. What are you planning for the long weekend?"

"I think Dick told you that he wants us to party at his house all weekend. It's supposed to keep us too busy to think about you being away. Personally, I think as soon as he wants to surf, he's gonna remember again."

"You might be right, although he surfs more without me than with these days so maybe that won't be a problem for him." He reached out to stroke her cheek. "What about you?"

"I'm not surfing." He raised his eyebrows at her. "Well, I don't know what you want me to say, Logan. I'm gonna miss you like crazy and this is making me obsess about next time, when it's not just two weeks. I'm gonna do everything I can to stay distracted so it feels like we're each just at work and I'll see you soon. Enough days of that and it'll be true."

He nodded. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to make this harder than it needs to be."

She bit her lip, trying not to laugh at his inadvertent innuendo. "I don't think that's possible."

He blinked at her in confusion, then realization dawned over his face. "That's usually your job."

She snickered. "It is. In all the important ways that statement can be interpreted."

"Okay, get out so I can kiss you. I'm about out of time." He opened his door and she pushed herself over the console to follow him out. He caught her in his arms and lifted her to hold her against him, high enough that they were nearly eye to eye as they kissed, with her legs dangling almost a foot above the ground.

"I feel so tall," she said, when they broke apart and he laughed and kissed her again, then let her feet slide to the ground.

"Back to normal," Logan quipped and she stretched up to kiss him again.

"Yeah, that's more familiar." She held his hands firmly. "I love you, Logan."

"I love you." He leaned down to kiss her again, then leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes with a sigh. She reached up to clasp his face in her hands.

"Come back to me."

His eyes opened and he smiled down at her. "Always."

They stood together in silence for another moment before Logan straightened and kissed her forehead, then leaned into the car and grabbed his sea bag from the backseat.

"I'll be back before you miss me," he said and headed into the building next to them. He looked back as he opened the door, hand raised in farewell, and then he was gone.

Veronica leaned against the car, staring after him for a minute. "You're late already," she mumbled under her breath, then looked around. With Logan gone and no longer blocking out the rest of the world, she noticed people everywhere, some in uniforms, others just visitors saying goodbye like her. She suddenly felt overwhelmed and climbed into Logan's car, taking a moment to make the necessary adjustments so the car would fit her, then headed back for Neptune.

* * *

Logan's report time really had been ridiculously early, so, even with the morning traffic, she was in the office before anyone else. She had the small kitchenette scrubbed until it sparkled and completely rearranged before her dad showed up an hour later.

"Honey?" She'd moved onto the lobby, although she hadn't been able to do much more than pull the cushions off the chairs and run the Dustbuster over them. Mac had completely eliminated their paper filing system and the waiting area was fairly spartan to begin with so there was limited cleaning to do. "Honey? Where did you hide the stir sticks?"

"Check behind the coffee pods, in the lower cupboard, third door over," she called back to him.

The clatter of cabinet doors carried out to her, then a bang and a muttered oath. A few minutes later, Keith appeared again, carrying two mugs. He placed them on Mac's desk and walked over to where Veronica knelt on the floor, one of the easy chairs pulled away from the wall, using the handheld vacuum on its back.

"Veronica, it's clean. Come on. Get up and have some coffee." He plucked the Dustbuster from her hand, and then reached for her with his other hand, pulling her upright. When she stood next to him, he pushed the chair back into place before pressing her shoulder gently, guiding her into the chair.

"Dad, what are you doing? We've got things to do." She sat like he obviously wanted her to but she squirmed with the need for action.

He handed her one of the coffee mugs, then took the Dustbuster over to its charger. "You can stop and have some coffee before we start the day. By the way, the stir sticks are back on the shelf over the sink."

"You're stuck in your ways, old man." She smirked at him over her mug.

"If my ways are not having to crawl on the floor and into the cabinets just to find something to stir up your coffee, then I'm fine with that." He grabbed his own mug and took a sip, eyes pinned on her as he leaned against Mac's desk.

"You drove Logan down this morning?" he asked. "I see you've got his fancy car out there again."

"Yeah. Gotta get rid of him more often so I can get my hands on that sweet ride."

"Uh huh." There was silence as they both sipped their drinks.

"What? You don't think I'm glad to see him go so I can cruise in style?" She smiled ruefully at him and he gave her a sympathetic look.

"Pretty sure he'd get you your own if it mattered that much to you."

"Yeah, you're probably right." She stared down into her coffee.

"Are you okay, honey?"

"Sure. It's just two weeks and he'll be back." She glanced up again. "I'm fine, Dad. Don't worry about me."

"Worrying about you is my job. You'll understand one day. Just because they grow up doesn't mean you stop worrying about your kids." He straightened up and took a step toward her. "You done?"

"Not quite yet. And I was up way too early this morning so I will need more." She stood and followed him to the kitchen. "In case you haven't noticed, I have no kids to worry about. And you're making me think that's a good thing if it's your lifelong job to worry."

He glanced over his shoulder at her and rolled his eyes. "There's a bit more to it than worrying."

"Yeah?" She drank the last of her coffee and placed her mug in its spot in the coffee maker before reaching for a new pod.

"I thought Dick was already selling you on this idea."

Her head swiveled toward him, leaning against the counter next to her, and she could feel her cheeks blazing. "He's apparently been trying to sell Logan. He did mention to me a few nights ago that he'd told you about that. Luckily, I was able to remember that Cole would be an orphan if I killed him. Otherwise, you'd probably be visiting me right now in lockup."

"He just kinda says whatever comes to his mind most of the time, doesn't he?" Keith said in an amused tone.

"Seems like it. You don't need to worry. Dick's wishes are not being considered." She watched the coffee begin to pour into her cup.

"Not something I really worry about," he answered.

She looked to her side again, tilting her head and looking at him through narrowed eyes. "What does that mean? Don't tell me he's right about you."

"I don't know. What does he say?"

"That you're a super dad who wants to be a super grandpa."

Keith laughed. "That's what he said?"

"That's exactly what he said," she answered. "Are you going to tell me that Dick Casablancas has a better idea of what you want than I do?"

"No, that's not what I'm telling you. What I want is for you to be happy and fulfilled. I spent a lot of years thinking that looked one way and you've made it pretty clear since you came home that I had the wrong picture in my head. Now, I'm letting you figure out for yourself what you want your life to look like."

Veronica sighed. "I know I disappointed you when I came home."

"I was wrong then. You needed to decide for yourself what was best for you. I did question your choices at first; I'm embarrassed about how I acted but I can't change the past." He moved next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "All I could see was you throwing away all that work, and tuition, from law school, and going back to a situation with Logan that I thought had never been good for you."

Veronica put her arm around his waist and leaned into his side, resting her head against his chest. "There's so much from back in high school and that year at Hearst that was as much about me as it was about Logan. You can't blame him for all of that."

"I know. You've said that before and I can believe that." His tone turned teasing. "I see how you run him around now and I can just imagine how much worse it was back then."

She made a scoffing noise. "That's cold, Dad."

"Truth hurts sometimes, honey." She snickered and squeezed him more tightly, then stepped away to get her coffee.

"Anyway, looking at you now, I can see how much happier you are than you were before. You never seemed unhappy and you were aggressively pursuing a goal that seemed so impressive back then, so when you tried telling me that that life wasn't what made you happy, I just couldn't accept it. I just thought it was the lure of Logan that you never seemed to be able to resist, and I was very sure that was bad for you."

"You don't think that now, do you?" She finished pouring creamer into her coffee and swiveled to face him again. "I mean, you gave him your...I don't know if blessing is the right term, but at least your reluctant agreement when he told you he was going to propose."

"It wasn't reluctant agreement by then. I think blessing does work. You've both grown up and realized what you needed for yourselves and figured out how to make that work together. I can't fault that."

"Thanks, Dad."

"And if all of that means that I get to be a grandpa at some point, who am I to argue." She looked at him with surprise as he headed out of the kitchen, then followed him to his office.

"Really?"

"Sure, why not? I'm good with Logan now and you've been my favorite person in the whole world since the doctor put you in my arms. Why wouldn't I want you two to give me grandkids?" He sat in his office chair and laced his hands behind his head.

"I don't know," she answered, dropping into the client chair. "I never thought about it like that."

"But remember, Veronica, what I want shouldn't sway you. It's your decision, and Logan's. Not mine, certainly not Dick's. You've got some extra considerations to think about too, with Logan's deployments. You two need to talk about what you both want and make decisions you both can live with. Once you do that, the rest of us will support whatever you decide to do."

"You make it sound so easy."

"It's not, but that's why you guys need to talk."

Veronica nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay, although I bet this is probably an in-person conversation so that idea's off the table for two weeks."

"That just gives you two weeks to think about what works for YOU. Maybe this isn't a conversation you're ready to have, even when he does come home. There's no need to rush. Work out what you might want and then see if he's ready to talk. If he's not, then you wait for a while. It's a big decision. Nothing says you have to make it right now, or even start talking about it right now. Okay? Don't push yourself too much."

Veronica heard the front door open. "Morning," Mac's voice called from the lobby.

"Hey, Mac," she called over her shoulder, than looked back at Keith. "Thanks, Dad." She stood up and walked to the door, pausing before she stepped out. "It pains me to speak these words, but Dick's right." Keith snorted a laugh. "You really are a super dad."

The laughter turned to a beaming smile across his face. "I don't know about that, but, if I am, it's because I have a super kid. You've made all the worry, and frustration, and occasional irritation, completely worthwhile."

She blinked rapidly, emotional again. "I love you, Dad."

"Love you too, sweetheart."

* * *

Mac booted up both her systems as soon as she stepped into the office. She'd left a search running the night before and she expected that she'd have results this morning. Her searches through the usual investigation programs for Casey's missing author hadn't netted any results so far but she had a high level of confidence in the latest attempt. It was just a very long, involved application, which was why she'd tried other avenues first.

"Hey, Q," Veronica said, coming out of Keith's office. She seemed a little down, her shoulders slumped and her eyes less lively than usual. As Veronica leaned her hip into Mac's desk, Mac realized what had happened earlier that day.

"How you doing, Bond?" Mac asked, looking at her friend with concern.

"I'm fine. A little...sad, I guess, but I'll be fine. This is a short one anyway. In a day or two, I'll be like, Logan who?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Just let us know what you need." She reached out and poked Veronica in the arm. "Do you hear me? Let us help you if you need it."

Veronica smiled. "I hear you. Thanks."

"Any time." A window popped open on one of her screens and her attention moved from Veronica to the results of her overnight search. As she pored over the report, a smile broke across her face. "Gotcha."

Veronica took a step closer. "Did you finally find something on the runaway writer?"

"Yes, I did. This guy uses more names than Sydney Barstow. Three more in this search. But finally, one with a credit card hit. 'Irving Updike.' Are those his literary idols or does he think he's their peer? That just seems like a really presumptuous alias."

"He's got two very large publishing houses in a bidding war. Maybe he's that good." Veronica shrugged.

"That's about popularity," Mac said with disdain. "There's no predicting what the masses want to read."

"Just because the masses like it doesn't make it automatically bad. You sound a little snobbish, Q."

"Pffft, whatever. Okay, Irving Updike's credit card was swiped at the Laguna Cliffs Resort in Dana Point on Saturday. Nothing after that so my guess is he's still there or there'd be a transaction for a check out." Mac looked up at Veronica with a grin. "Shall we take a ride up the coast?"

"You want to go with me?" Veronica said, sounding surprised. "You're usually happy to stay in the office and be a virtual detective." The speculative look on her face made Mac uncomfortable but she looked back coolly until Veronica grinned. "Trying to impress Casey with how awesome you really are?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mac answered. "I just thought you could use some company today."

"Sorry," Veronica said, looking chagrined. "You're trying to be nice and I'm being a bitch."

"Eh, no worries." Mac grabbed her phone and entered the address of the resort. "I guess I'm not totally averse to Casey thinking I'm awesome." She leaned down, looking into the drawer with her bag in it, not wanting to show her probably red face to Veronica.

"Oh ho ho—now that's a very interesting disclosure. Let me get my bag and we'll take a drive. We'll put the top down on Logan's convertible; this'll be a much better way to spend the day than moping around here."

* * *

Veronica managed to make it out of Neptune and onto the 5 before she couldn't hold out any longer.

"So? What about Casey?"

Mac shrugged. "The three of us had fun on Tuesday night and he seems like a nice guy, so, we kinda had dinner...last night...just the two of us." Veronica glanced over at her as she confessed the dinner date. Mac was flushing a rosy pink but she was smiling, her dimples flashing.

"Oooohhh really? Well? How was it?" Veronica asked. "From the look on your face, I'm guessing it was a pretty good first date."

"It was okay," Mac allowed, still blushing.

"If you look like that after an okay date, I want to see you after a really good one." Veronica chortled as Mac hid her face behind her hands, shaking her head. After a moment, she shifted to face Veronica.

"It was just dinner, Bond."

"No dessert? That is totally unacceptable. I shall speak sharply to Mr. Gant."

Mac huffed in exasperation and threw up her hands. "Uhh, sorry, I don't know what I was thinking, putting it like that. I wouldn't want to mislead you on such an important issue. There was dessert too. A fruit tart."

"No ice cream?" Veronica wrinkled her nose, hoping her disapproval showed clearly.

"You know I don't eat regular ice cream."

"Oh yeah. Weirdo." They both laughed at that. "And after? Anyone go back to anyone else's place?" Veronica waggled her eyebrows.

"He had to drop me back at home so, yeah, the answer to that is affirmative." Veronica wriggled in her seat with an insinuating cackle but Mac shook her head. "He left me at the door. Didn't come inside."

"Was there at least some kissing?"

"There may have been some." Veronica whooped but Mac seemed to ignore her. "He's going to come to Dick's on Monday. He doesn't get much chance to surf anymore so he was excited when I mentioned it. And, we're doing dinner and a movie on Saturday night. Guardians 2."

"You've seen that already."

"So?" Mac's voice turned teasing. "You don't have to pay as much attention if you've seen it already."

"Cindy MacKenzie!"

"I'm kidding. Mostly." She wrinkled her nose. "I'm pretty sure that in thirteen years of friendship, this is the first time we've done this much of the girl talk thing."

"I'm pretty sure you're right." That admission brought another thought to Veronica's mind. "Whatever happened with Dee Dee?"

"We've gone out a few times. I like her."

"Kissing?"

Mac blushed again. "Yes."

"Does she leave you at the door? Not come inside?"

"Veronica!"

"Sorry," Veronica said with a chuckle. "We got going on the girl talk and I thought I'd go all out."

"Yes, she's come inside. And she might again. We have fun. It's not a relationship, not really, but we like each other. I think Casey and I might like each other too." Her face turned serious. "I'm not looking for something permanent right now. If I find it while I'm having fun with different people, I'm not opposed to starting something exclusive, but I try not to put a lot of expectations on anyone, including myself."

"Wow," Veronica said. "What a modern, grown-up perspective."

"We can't all find our true love at seventeen," Mac teased.

"Trust me. It's not all it's cracked up to be. We were so not ready for all of those feelings. It's a wonder we didn't kill each other."

"I sorta thought that was what the escape from Neptune was about. Trying to avoid the death and destruction." Mac smiled kindly. "I always knew it would work out."

"You did not! You let your roommate date him."

"That was accidental. And it was clear that he wasn't really into her."

"And when I came back here...you and Wallace brought Piz out to keep me from dumping him for Logan."

"Oh no," Mac said emphatically, "that is not what happened. Wallace brought Piz out—for that exact reason—but as soon as I heard, I tried to talk him out of it. I wasn't sure that you and Logan were going to get back together right away but I didn't think it made sense to bring him out. I knew he was filler. Still the Eggplant Parmesan, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know. Poor Piz."

"He knew what he was getting into."

Veronica shook her head. "Maybe the first time but not in New York. I think it was reasonable for him to assume I was done with Logan. I thought I was. Why should he think any differently?"

"I guess so. Regardless, I always knew you two would end up together." Veronica gave her a skeptical glance. "Okay, I was always pretty sure you'd eventually find your way back together."

"Hmmmph. If you say so."

"Oh hey!" Mac said suddenly. "Did your dad fill you in on his Maggie search?"

"Rapid change of subject there, Q, but whatever. No, he didn't tell me anything. What's did he find?"

"He told me yesterday, after you left for Logan's last night at home, that he hadn't found anything to suggest that Maggie had contacted the police about Nathan. The only reference to her that he could find in the police database was the police report from her accident."

"Oh," Veronica said, sobered at the thought of Maggie's death. "I didn't even think of that showing up, but obviously, that would be there. Nothing else, huh?"

"Nope, only the preliminary report on the accident."

Veronica glanced at Mac. "The preliminary report? It's been months. Why only a preliminary report?"

"Keith said it means the investigation was never closed." At Veronica's incredulous look, Mac held up a hand. "Hold your horses, Bond, that doesn't have to mean they're still actively investigating anything. What your dad also said was that's most likely about toxicology reports. Those can take months. Since it was an unwitnessed, single car accident, they would have done the testing to see if that might explain what happened. But the thing is, since she's deceased, it's not like they need the results to bring charges against her. If no one is clambering for a final report, the toxicology results might never get matched up to the preliminary report so no one gets around to issuing anything final." Mac shrugged. "Even if she was completely intoxicated, it's not really a priority for anyone when they've got actual crimes to investigate and living people to prosecute."

"That's terrible. I never really heard anything about the specifics of the accident. I didn't even think about her being under the influence of anything." She sighed, feeling sad again. "Poor Maggie. And poor Mrs. Tierney. I hope Cole doesn't know anything about this. I guess at least we can be glad that no one else was hurt."

Mac shook her head. "Keith was very specific that toxicology would likely be done no matter what. It doesn't mean she was drunk or whatever. They just have to test."

"Okay, thanks. Unless someone tells me different, I guess I'll assume that toxicology was negative. And, I'll have to accept that there was nothing going on with Nathan. Cole just didn't like his mom's boyfriend and Pony was startled by a stranger. Not everything has to be a conspiracy."

"Hang on, hang on, I'm gonna need you to say that again." Mac fumbled in her bag and pulled out her phone. "Okay, let me start my recorder app..."

"Very funny."

* * *

Several hours later, Veronica pulled Logan's car up to the front of Mars Investigations.

"At least the ride was sorta pretty," Mac said as she climbed out of the convertible.

"The resort was nice enough too, I guess," Veronica responded, still sitting in the car. "Too bad our guy didn't happen to be there."

The trip had confirmed that Irving Updike was maintaining a room at Laguna Cliffs, however, he wasn't there. Mac had hung out in the lobby, using their wireless network as she accessed the resort's system from her tablet. Veronica had made it up to the seventh floor to try to catch him in his room when Mac texted her the information she'd found entered on his account. According to the notes, Mr. Updike would be returning early the following week, after a several day excursion to Catalina Island. When he didn't answer Veronica's knock, they'd headed back to Neptune.

"So, we're still not sure if he's on his own or if he's being hosted by Casey's competition. The resort is on his credit card but this jaunt to Catalina—" Mac did her best hoity-toity accent for 'jaunt' "—that could still be on the other publisher."

"It is weird to keep a room you're not actually staying in, unless you're Dick and Logan, of course. I guess I'll be driving up again next week. Probably a good idea to call first next time. Let's keep an eye on Irving's credit card. He paid for the resort but not for a fancy pants trip to Catalina. That makes it sound like someone else might be footing the bill."

"Are you not coming back up to the office?" Mac asked as she reached into the back seat for her bag.

"No, I'm exhausted. Not a lot of sleep last night—" Mac laughed suggestively and Veronica rolled her eyes "—and then out before the sun was even up this morning. I'm going home, feeding my dog, and taking a nap."

"All right. Do you want me to call Casey with an update on today?"

"Sure. Call and give him an update." Veronica smirked up at her. "Confirm that Saturday date while you're at it. Oh, and be sure to tell him I said hi."

"I'll be sure to do that," Mac said, rolling her eyes. "You coming in tomorrow?"

"Oh absolutely. Right now, I need to sleep but by tomorrow, I'll be looking for distractions again."

"Okay. Call if you need anything."

"I will. Thanks for the company today, Q." Mac took a step back from the car and waved as Veronica drove away, then headed upstairs to see what kind of trouble Keith had managed to stir up while they were away.

* * *

Friday seemed longer than normal. Veronica looked for another reason to take a drive all day but there was nowhere she needed to go. She'd sent Logan a couple of emails but he had not yet responded. Since they'd only been underway for a day, she wasn't concerned about his lack of response.

As the day drew to a close, she'd tried convincing both Mac and her dad to have dinner with her and then come with her to Dick's but Mac had a family obligation and Keith would only say that he already had plans. She'd tried to pry more information from him but he was close-mouthed and she decided to let it go. She'd had a moment of thinking she might follow him to figure out his secret but decided against that plan of action. It would distract her but she didn't always need to invade everyone's privacy.

Entering the quiet apartment later that afternoon, she began to regret her sudden attack of scruples. The decision to not follow her dad left her with nothing to occupy her brain. She sat watching Pony curled in her bed, sleeping with a dirty workout shirt of Logan's tangled between her front paws and under her head. The contents of their laundry basket had been strewn across the bedroom floor and Veronica assumed that the workout shirt had smelled the most strongly of him. The sight of their dog cuddling her equivalent of a Logan blankie made Veronica want to crawl into her bed and snuggle his pillow but, before she could, her phone rang.

 _"Ronnie, where are you? I thought you were coming over."_

"I just got home, Dick."

 _"What are you doing?"_

"Nothing really..."

 _"Then pack up the mutt and get over here."_

She thought longingly of Logan's pillow but she'd agreed earlier in the week to spend time with Dick and Cole over the long weekend so she reluctantly did as he asked. Pony was excited as usual when Veronica pulled the leash off its hook but she kept her laundry basket prize clutched between her teeth in spite of Veronica's commands to drop the shirt. She finally decided not to fight her on it; Logan had plenty of tanks and if he lost one to Pony, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

They pulled up to the beach house at the same time that Casey did.

"Hey, Veronica. And pooch." He crouched down and held his hand out to Pony, who sniffed it, and then crowded against him.

"Hey, Case. Meet Pony."

"Pony? That's...different." He remained crouched, petting the dog's head. "What's she clutching with such determination?"

"One of Logan's shirts. I think she takes him being gone harder than me or Dick." Veronica smiled at the dog who was rubbing against Casey, her tail wagging like crazy. "What are you doing here?"

"Dick called me—I'm not even sure how he got my number—and asked if I wanted to hang out. I'm coming over with Mac on Monday but I didn't have plans tonight so I said okay. It's been a long time since I've really seen anyone from high school so I figured what the heck." Casey stood up and they headed for Dick's front door.

"He probably got your number from Mac," Veronica said with a smile.

"Oh, are they very good friends?"

She laughed. "Yeah. Mac's helped him out a lot since he found out he has a kid. He really relies on her."

"Do they date?" His nonchalant tone made her eyebrows rise.

"No, they haven't." She was starting to wonder how long it would be before they did.

"But you think they want to?"

"I don't know. I try not to think about Dick's love life, especially in relation to one of my best friends." She stopped before climbing the stairs to the front porch. "Dick's changed quite a bit since Cole came into his life. If you haven't seen him for a while, I think you'll find him to be a lot different than he was."

"That's good. I've been having a hard time picturing him parenting anyone since you guys told me." They both laughed, then Veronica led Casey up the stairs. She rapped on the door a couple times, then went inside with Pony scrambling ahead as they entered the house.

"Hey Veronica," Cole said from the floor in front of the television where Pony was mauling him, Logan's shirt abandoned next to them. Another boy was stretched out next to him, laughing as Cole and Pony rolled around on the floor.

"Hi Cole. And...Trevor?"

"Yeah. Hey."

"This is Casey. Another Neptune High old guy." Casey made a face at her as he greeted the boys. "Where's your dad?"

"Right here, Rons," Dick said from behind her. She turned to find him coming into the room. "Casey, man, great to see you." He clapped Casey on the back. "It's been a long time. When Ronnie and the Macster said they'd seen you, I had to invite you over for our weekend o' fun."

"What's happening tonight?" Veronica asked.

"Eh, nothing much. Just hanging out. Cole and Trev are binging some Netflix thing and I've got pizza on the way."

Casey smirked at Veronica. "When you said Dick had changed, you weren't kidding. Watching TV and eating pizza on Friday night. Not the Dick Casablancas I remember."

"Had to grow up sometime, Case," Dick said. "And I do have beer to go with the pizza. But only for the grown-ups."

"And it looks like you finally qualify," Veronica teased as she walked past him into the kitchen to find the beer.


	13. Chapter 13

Surprisingly, Dick did a pretty good job of keeping Veronica distracted over the weekend. From Friday evening on, he kept her entertained and in a borderline food coma most of the time. She went home Friday night late, leaving Pony in Cole's care, and when she came back to the house on Saturday afternoon, Dick put _The Big Leb_ ow _ski_ on repeat for the entire afternoon while he bustled around, cleaning his grill and his fridge before eventually going out to surf. Cole sat and watched the movie with her for a while, but after about twenty minutes, he shook his head and stood up.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go help Dad with...whatever he's doing."

"This is a classic, kid," she called after him.

"Uh huh."

The Casablancas house was crowded on Monday with about twenty of Cole's friends, several of their parents, and everyone Dick thought Veronica liked, including her dad and one very excited dog. If Pony had been startled by a stranger in the house a week earlier, she'd apparently recovered, and spent the day trying to weasel belly rubs and hot dogs out of everyone.

When Wallace turned up fairly early in the day, Cole and Trevor tried to convince him to surf with them.

"Come on, Mr. Fennel, it'll be fun," Trevor said. "We promise not to let you drown."

"Go on, Papa Bear. Go surf with the boys," Veronica called from the kitchen where she was slicing fruit.

"Yeah, Mr. Papa Bear," Cole added and laughter rang through the room.

Partway through the afternoon, her computer sounded the Skype tone and Logan joined the party for a while, virtually at least. He'd emailed her on Saturday and Sunday so Veronica wasn't even disgruntled when the word got out that there was a call from an aircraft carrier going on in the house and partygoers started filing in to check out the novelty and give Logan the 'thank you for your service' line that Veronica usually found so disingenuous but seemed okay on Memorial Day.

She sat next to the computer, watching Logan as he spoke to a dozen different people, answering what he could and repeating _'sorry, that's classified_ ' when the questions got a little too probing. She threw in 'he could tell you but I'd have to kill you' a couple times but some of the moms gave her weird looks so she stopped although she smirked and repeated the line in her head every time _'that's classified'_ came out of his mouth.

A retired Marine dad was jokingly trading Navy and Marine insults with Logan when Casey came in the house. Veronica had been watching Logan as he laughed at the barbs and delivered his own zingers when Casey put his head between her and the laptop.

"Logan, man, we missed you at dinner the other night. How're you doing?"

The Marine dad took a step away. "Be safe out there. Maybe we'll get to meet in person once you're back."

 _"Definitely. Next party. We can always rely on Dick for another party."_

Casey stepped into the now vacant spot in front of the web cam. "It's been a long time, man."

 _"Yeah, sorry I had to miss dinner; they ran us ragged getting operation ready."_

"No problem; next time. It's not like dinner with two beautiful women all to myself was a hardship." Casey laughed as Logan's eyebrows rose.

 _"I'll be back very shortly, Case, don't get too comfortable having dinner with my fiancée."_

Casey laughed again. "Don't worry. I know my place."

 _"That's good to hear. So, umm, Veronica? My time's nearly up here."_

"Oh hey, I'll get out of your way. Once you're back, we'll try that dinner thing again." Casey looked at Veronica as he took a step back. "He's all yours."

She smiled at him as he walked back outside and she turned the laptop more toward her.

"All mine. Finally."

 _"Always all yours, but unfortunately, today it's only for a couple more minutes."_ His eyes softened. _"How are my girls?"_

"Well, I hope you weren't super attached to that grey tank top you wear down to the weight room. Pony's using it as her pillow."

 _"I'm not sure which one you're talking about. I've got like ten grey tanks."_

"Then it shouldn't be a problem," she said.

 _"What about you? Have you appropriated any of my belongings?"_ His smile made her feel better than she had since he'd walked away from her on Thursday.

"I may be using your actual pillow," she answered, "but I'm not carrying it in my mouth everywhere I go so it'll still be in good shape when you get back. I cannot say the same for your shirt."

He laughed. _"I can live without the shirt but I'm glad about you and the pillow. You'd look a little strange carrying a pillow around in your mouth."_

"You're right about that." They grinned at each other for a moment. "So, how's the cruise going? Are you getting to fly?"

 _"Yeah, a couple times so far. It's been good. Missing you though."_ His attention focused away from the camera for a moment and he frowned. " _I'm sorry, I've got to get going. I'm out of time. I love you."_

"Love you too. Call me whenever."

 _"I will."_ He touched his fingertips against the screen and she rested hers against his just as the screen went dark.

* * *

The trip up to Dana Point on the following Tuesday was more productive than the first trip had been. Veronica caught up to the missing author, freshly back from the weekend on Catalina, and convinced him that Casey had been concerned enough for his well being that he'd had hired Mars Investigations to make sure he hadn't met with any foul play. The man was so appreciative that, as Veronica sat on the couch of his suite, he called Casey from her phone to commit his new series to Gant Publishing. Once off the phone with Casey, he tried to convince Veronica to stay and celebrate with him but she politely declined the offer and headed back to Neptune.

The rest of the week dragged by slowly. Veronica spent a couple nights sitting in front of the Camelot and the others hanging out at the apartment with Pony. On Friday afternoon, after Mac had left for the day, Veronica gathered her bag and computer, then went to her dad's office and leaned in his doorway.

"Hey, Dad, you about done in here? How about we pick up a Cho's Pizza for dinner?"

"Sorry, Veronica, I've got an obligation tonight," he said, not looking up at her as he moved things around on his desk. "Maybe we can go to Mama Leone's tomorrow night? How's that sound?"

"What do you have tonight?" she asked, confused by his refusal. "There's no surveillance pending on the job list."

"No, nothing work related. Just some personal plans." He continued to focus on his desk, moving some items into his desk drawers, or file folders, or his brief case and her spidey-sense triggered.

"What kind of plans?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant. She knew she'd failed when he finally looked up at her and raised his eyebrows, the ghost of a smile turning the corners of his mouth up.

"Personal plans are just that, Veronica. Personal. In the immortal words of Dick Casablancas, mind your own beeswax."

"Hey, hey, chill." She held up her hands in acquiescence. "I didn't realize 'personal plans' was a synonym for 'top secret plans'. I was merely asking an innocent question."

"Veronica, you haven't asked an innocent question since you were five."

"Hey! That was just mean." She pouted her lower lip out at him.

"Do you really think I'm falling for that?" He smirked at her. "You mastered that pouty lip by about ten."

She rolled her eyes at the ceiling. "I'm getting a complex here. I try to invite myself to dinner at my dad's—where I'm always supposed to be welcome, by the way—then I ask, completely innocently, about what he's doing tonight, something normal people talk about all the time. And what happens? I get cruelly mocked for childhood tendencies, by the man who's supposed to love me without reservation."

"When did you become such a drama queen?" He laughed when her mouth fell open in astonishment. "Cruelly mocked? Really?"

"Okay, maybe that language is a little strong." Veronica shrugged. "Whatever. I was just being polite. I couldn't care less what you're doing tonight." He made a rude scoffing noise. "It's true. I was just thinking we could spend a little time together but if you're busy, it's no big deal."

"Maybe Dick and Cole don't have plans," Keith suggested, his tone softer than it had been. "I know it's tough with Logan gone. I'm sorry I made other plans tonight. I wasn't thinking."

"I'm not some desperate charity case, Dad. I don't need someone to take care of me." She straightened up away from the wall. "I'm taking off. Have a good time doing...whatever secret thing you're doing that I care nothing about."

He laughed. "Okay. Are we on for tomorrow night?"

"Sure, Dad. See you later."

* * *

Veronica sat in a booth at Cho's, sipping a soda and playing with her phone as she waited for her pizza to be ready. She checked her email and read a new message from Logan. _"Home in six days,"_ he'd written and she smiled. He could not be home soon enough. She sent a short message back accepting his proposed Skype date in the morning, then put the phone down and leaned her head on her hand. Her dad's secretiveness was gnawing at her. She understood why there were things he'd want to be able to do without an audience—she understood that quite well, even if thoughts like that about her dad made her cringe. What she didn't get was why she couldn't even know where he was going, or who he was meeting. Privacy was one thing; complete loss of contact was another. She knew she was justifying what she was about to do but she wasn't planning to really spy on his activities, just check on where he was. Make sure he wasn't getting into any trouble.

She popped open the tracking application on her phone, hesitating only for a moment before hitting the map link. She could only see her own icon but all linked phones and their locations were listed below the map. Mac was at her apartment, probably getting ready for a date with DeeDee according to what she'd talked about earlier in the day. Logan's phone showed as offline, since it was probably turned off and at the bottom of his sea bag. Her dad's was showing at a downtown address.

Veronica pressed the home button on her phone and the application closed. He was in downtown Neptune. She didn't need to know anything else.

"Here you go." The teenaged girl working the counter stood next to her with a pizza. "Medium combo with pineapple. I'll bring you your small order of cheesecake eggrolls in a few minutes."

"You can pack them to go when they're done," Veronica said. "They'll be a good late night snack."

"Sounds good. Enjoy."

"Great, thanks." Veronica lifted a piece of the pizza and took a deep breath, savoring the spicy aroma. "I'm sure I will."

Half a pizza later, she boxed up her leftovers, collected her dessert and headed for her car. Home was boring and quiet but she didn't have any other appealing ideas for the night. She was almost there before she turned back and headed for downtown Neptune. At a stoplight, she popped the tracking app open again. Her dad's icon was still showing at the same downtown location. As she waited for the light to change, she considered what she was doing. This wasn't about figuring out where he was. This was about to turn into spying.

A horn beeped behind her and she dropped the phone into the center console as she pulled forward across the intersection, then over to the curb. Her dad, or at least his phone, was only a few blocks ahead. She was in a decent part of Neptune, lots of stores and small restaurants. This wasn't Camelot or River Stix territory so she couldn't pretend this was about making sure he was safe. This was more about her boredom getting the best of her judgment. He was probably just out to dinner with a friend...or maybe...

"He's out on a date," she muttered under her breath.

That thought rocked her back in her seat. A date. Could he be out on a date? But if he was, why was he hiding it? As soon as it crossed her mind, that thought made her laugh. Of course he was keeping it quiet. He didn't want the inevitable teasing. That was probably what he was out doing last Friday too, when he wouldn't have dinner with her.

She smiled to herself and shook her head. If he wanted privacy, she was going to give it to him. She was going to go home and not snoop on him anymore. When–if—he was ready to confess, she would be surprised by whatever he wanted to tell her.

Veronica pulled back into traffic and into the next left turn lane so she could head back for home again. The light was against her so she sat waiting for it to change, feeling pretty good about herself and her self control. She'd almost gone over to the dark side but she'd gotten a handle on the snoopiness before she did anything she might regret later.

She was starting to wonder if the light was ever going to change when she saw them. Apparently she hadn't rethought the snooping soon enough. Her dad had come out of one of the little bistros and was holding the door open for his companion, who smiled at him and took his hand as they walked down the sidewalk, thankfully away from where Veronica sat at the intersection.

"Oh, Papa Bear," she said as she grinned at the couple walking away from her. "You might get to be Brother Bear after all."

* * *

She bailed out on dinner with her dad on Saturday, preferring poker night at Dick's to pretending that she hadn't personally witnessed evidence of his secretly rekindled romance with Alicia Fennel. She'd taken Dick, Wallace, and Logan to the cleaners on the last poker night so she was looking forward to the addition of Casey's wallet to the mix.

"Who else is gonna be here?" Veronica asked as she dumped tortilla chips into a serving bowl. "You're not getting all _Good Housekeeping_ over Casey, are you? You made us eat chips out of the bag last poker night."

"Like you care," Dick retorted. "As long as it doesn't eat you first. Isn't that your only requirement for your food?"

"Wow. You're getting so mouthy. I think I liked it better when you were afraid of me."

"Don't worry, Ronnie, I still am." Dick grabbed the bowls of chips in front of her and carried them to the converted poker table. "Trevor's mom and dad are joining us. You met them last week, Tracy and Rob. Remember?"

"Umm, yeah, vaguely. Are Cole and Trevor playing too?"

"No, they're at Trevor's right now and his folks are dropping the boys at the movies before coming over here. Mac should be here too but not until a little later. She said she was busy today but Casey should be here any time. Are they not going out anymore?"

Veronica looked over at Dick, who was studiously avoiding her gaze. "I'm not completely sure what's happening with them. I think Mac's just keeping things casual." She cleared her throat and his eyes moved to her. "If you're that interested, why don't you ask her?"

Dick looked away again. "Not my business."

"Then why're you asking me?" She smiled when his cheeks turned pink.

"Gotta talk to you about something, Rons."

"Oh, I see. Conversation filler that frequently centers on Mac's love life. Common topic of conversation with everyone who knows her."

"Really?" he asked, focusing on her again and she laughed.

"No, not really. Only with you. And occasionally Casey." Veronica walked over to the table and sat down. "If you like her, why not ask her out?"

"Are you giving me your stamp of approval, Ronnie?" he asked. The hopeful look in his eyes made her eyebrows rise.

"No, I don't have a say in this," she answered. "Mac's her own person and she's gonna do what she wants. I know she likes you as a person now, in a way she didn't ten years ago, but I don't know if that translates to _liking you_ now. You know?"

"Yeah, which is why I don't ask her out," he answered. "I'd rather keep her friendship. I'd hate to lose that by making things weird between us."

"Friend zoning yourself. That's an interesting approach."

Dick huffed in exasperation and dropped into the chair next to her. "What am I supposed to do, Veronica? I don't want to mess things up."

She looked at him in surprise. He seemed so...sincere. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I can give you advice on winning over one of my best friends, Dick. You and I have a complicated history. You aren't really who I'd pick for her."

"Like Wally and your dad wouldn't have picked Logan for you?" Dick said in a petulant voice. "You trying to get her to start dating Piss?"

Veronica burst into laughter and the irritated look on his face deepened. "I hafta say, passing her off to Piz never occurred to me. But you do give me another perspective on this subject."

"I do?" His tone was suspicious. "Like what?"

She smiled at him, feeling indulgent. "I freely acknowledge that you've grown up a lot in the last several months. There's been plenty of things that you and I have disagreed on through the years but the 2017 version of Dick does have redeeming qualities that 2003 and 2007 Dick did not. So, whatever ways you're able to win Mac over, I'm not going to try to dissuade her like I would have a year ago."

"You're going to bat for me?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh no, I'm not ready for anything that extreme. I'm just not going to sabotage any efforts you make. If you get up the gumption to ask her out, or try to get her to see you in a more serious light, I won't follow along behind you undermining everything you say." At his sudden frown, she raised her hands, palms up in a questioning manner. "What's the problem? I thought this was a pretty generous first step. Rome wasn't built in a day, as they say."

"I agree. It is pretty generous. And I don't understand why you're willing to do it. I've been a shit to you in the past. You're just over all that, all of a sudden?"

"No, it's not like that. I just feel like we're both working on moving on. As long as you keep making positive strides, I can too." She stood up suddenly. "That's all the sharing I can take for one night. Just take the win and stop bugging me."

He chuckled and nodded. "Okay. I'm not gonna push my luck. But..." He stood up and gave her a quick, one-armed hug, then skittered away before she could react. "Thanks, Veronica."

* * *

Four hours later, Veronica sat at the table, piling her chips into stacks as she counted her winnings.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that you're not supposed to count your money while you're sitting at the table?" Wallace asked and Mac laughed loudly.

"This is why I always beat you, Papa Bear," Veronica answered with a smile. "Because everything you know about poker you learned from Kenny Rogers." Mac laughed again, as did Trevor's mom, Tracy.

Tracy's husband, Rob, came back from the porch bedroom that now belonged to Cole, carrying their coats and Tracy's purse. "This wasn't just luck? She always wins like this?"

"Unless Logan's here," Dick responded glumly from where he sat, looking at his tiny stack of chips. "I was hoping that him not being here would throw her off but it's turning out that he's actually the only thing that distracts her." He looked around the room. "Sorry folks. Next time, her invitation's getting lost in the mail."

Veronica threw one of her smallest denomination chips at him. "He doesn't distract me. He just bluffs almost as well as I do."

Dick rolled his eyes. "I think the two of you disappearing for three hands in a row counts as distraction." Veronica felt her cheeks flush and she threw another chip at him.

"Shut up, Dick." The room rang with laughter.

"Well, we're heading out," Tracy said. She looked pointedly at Dick. "We'll have Cole home by mid-afternoon tomorrow. Does that work for you?"

"Sure. Thanks for letting him stay over. Once school's over next week, any time Trevor wants to stay over here is fine. They can surf and hang out whenever."

"Sounds good." Tracy looked around at the rest of the group. "Great to see everyone. Even if this poker game is sending us home with our kid's future no longer secure." The room filled with laughter again and then there were good byes all around.

With Rob and Tracy gone, Veronica pushed her chips toward Casey who was manning the cash box. "Cash me out, please, Casey."

"Me too," Wallace added, pushing his chips in as well. Dick just sat, poking at his chips.

"Oh hey, Wallace," Veronica chimed in, "I was meaning to tell you. I know something you don't know." The final sentence was in a singsong voice.

"Yeah. I'm used to that. The question is: am I going to care?"

"Oh yes, I'm pretty sure you are. Wanna guess?"

"Not so much."

"Spoilsport," she sneered. "Okay, I'm sharing anyway, even if you don't deserve to know. Ready?"

"Always."

"Okay. I saw my dad and your mom holding hands as they walked out of a restaurant last night. We might get those bunkbeds after all!" She wriggled in her seat, a huge grin splitting her face.

Wallace scrunched up his nose. "Oh, hell to the no on the bunkbeds. Not when that probably includes Logan in there with you." The look of distaste went away and he smiled at her. "Are you sure about Mom and Keith? That would be cool. They seemed happy together until...whatever happened to break them up. Did you ever find out what went wrong?"

"No, not really. It was about the time you took off with your dad. I'm not sure what happened. Doesn't matter though. They looked pretty friendly again last night." She stood up and carried her glass to the kitchen.

"How'd you find out?" Mac asked. "It's been pretty obvious that he was hiding something but how'd you figure out what it was? Did you follow him last night?"

"Not exactly," Veronica answered, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "I sorta started to, and then decided not to, and then, there they were. Total accidental sighting."

"How does she find out anything?" Dick asked. "As far as I can tell, she knows everyone's deepest, darkest secrets. I did something totally stupid at a party _sophomore year_ , fourteen freakin' years ago, and she knew about that."

Casey scoffed. "Was that when you tried to make Madison nice with some GHB? Everyone knew about that."

Veronica froze by the sink at Casey's words. She saw both Mac and Wallace look at Dick sharply.

"You drugged a girl at a party?" Wallace said slowly. "We just went through that at the school again. You think that's okay?"

"Not anymore," Dick said quietly, "but back then, it didn't seem like that big a deal. It didn't even work anyway. She never drank the drink. She was as bitchy as always, all night long."

"What happened to the drink, Dick?" Wallace's voice was low and Veronica suddenly felt like a train was rushing in her direction. "If Madison didn't drink it, what happened to it?"

"I have no idea. She probably dumped it in a plant somewhere."

"Or maybe she handed it off to someone else." Wallace stood up and took a step around the table toward Dick. "Maybe someone else got drugged instead. Did that ever cross your pea brain?" He looked up at Veronica who was shaking her head, trying to stop what was coming, but all that seemed to do was confirm Wallace's thoughts for him and the volume of his voice began to escalate. "What do you think happens when you try to drug one girl to get her to _be nice_ and get another instead? Did you ever consider that?" Without warning, he launched himself at Dick, his fist connecting with Dick's jaw. Dick's chair tumbled over and Wallace went with him, hitting Dick repeatedly as he shouted.

"You stupid shit! How could you?"

Dick didn't even try to hit back; he raised his arms to protect his face and shouted, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," repeatedly. Veronica couldn't move, watching the scene in horror but Casey quickly broke up the brawl, pulling Wallace off Dick.

"Dude, what the hell?" Casey threw Wallace back from Dick and stood between them. "I mean seriously. What the actual fuck?"

Wallace shook his head rapidly, fury still on his face as he glared at Dick. Then he looked up at Veronica and remorse replaced the anger.

"I am so sorry," he said to Veronica and bolted for the door. Veronica watched him go, then glanced at Mac and Casey, who were now staring at her. They still looked shocked, but the hint of understanding that she thought she saw on their faces drove her into action.

"I'm going with him. Talk to you later," she said as she fled after Wallace.


	14. Chapter 14

_KMD0107 suggests that a cliffhanger like the last chapter warrants a replay of the last few moments of the hanging chapter, so if it seems like you've read the beginning before, it's because you have…_

* * *

PREVIOUSLY, ON _THE CASABLANCAS LEGACY:_

"I am so sorry," he said to Veronica and bolted for the door. Veronica watched him go, then glanced at Mac and Casey, who were now staring at her. They still looked shocked, but the hint of understanding that she thought she saw on their faces drove her into action.

"I'm going with him. Talk to you later," she said as she fled after Wallace.

* * *

Mac stared at the spot where Veronica had been standing a moment before. _What the hell just happened?_

"Geez, Dick, I never put it together before, but the drink you made for Madison, Veronica got it. That's why she was so out of it that night." Casey reached down to offer Dick a hand up. Dick grabbed the offered hand and rose to his feet.

"What night?" Mac asked. "And why was it a big enough deal that you remember it more than a decade later?"

"She came around asking about what happened more than a year later," Casey said. "It was a few weeks before my graduation. I told her how messed up she was but I just thought it was from drinking. She really didn't remember anything. I don't know why it never dawned on me that she'd been drugged."

"Did you drug her, Dick?" Mac asked.

"No!" Dick insisted. "Not on purpose at least. But...yeah, it looks like I did. And then..." He covered his mouth and stood looking up at the ceiling. "I didn't mean...I never thought...I..." He suddenly bolted out of the room, heading toward his bedroom. After a moment, Mac could hear the sounds of him retching from down the hall.

"Shit," Casey said, looking at Mac. "I wish I hadn't said anything. I was just yanking Dick's chain about being an asshole in high school. I didn't realize it would turn into this."

"Why would you? I would never have expected Wallace to react that way," Mac said.

"He wasn't even in Neptune yet, was he? If he wasn't here, that means he only knows about that party because Veronica told him that something happened. Presumably to her. Shit." Casey looked at Mac. "I just let her wander around like that. I know I was an asshole back then too, but geez. I'd like to think that I wouldn't just ignore a drugged girl. God, I hope this is just about getting drugged. If something else happened to her, I'm gonna feel like shit."

"I don't know anything, she's never mentioned it to me. But I do know that Wallace is not someone who just hits other people."

"Yeah. Look, maybe we should get out of here. Give Dick some space."

Mac shook her head. "You go. I'm gonna check on him first. Make sure he's okay. I'm fine here with him. He'll probably talk if it's just me."

Casey frowned at her. "I'm not sure I should leave you alone with him."

"I'll be fine. Go ahead and go." She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arm around his waist, giving him a quick hug before taking a step toward Dick's room. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"You're sure?" Casey asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah, just go." She walked down the hallway to Dick's bedroom, hearing the front door open and close as Casey took her advice and left. She stopped outside Dick's room, gathering her thoughts before trying to talk to him.

A moment later, the door opened and Dick stood in his doorway looking down at her. "What are you still doing here, Mackie?" he asked, his voice ragged and eyes red-rimmed. "I thought you guys left. I heard the door." He brushed past her and walked to the front room where he slumped onto the couch.

"Casey left. I wanted to make sure you were okay," Mac said as she followed him.

"Oh, I'm just peachy. I already knew I was a dirtbag who tried to drug his girlfriend in high school but I always thought nothing came of that. Wally didn't seem to think that was true."

"No, he didn't." Mac sat down next to him on the couch. "What do you think that was about?"

"If you don't already know, I'm not telling you. This is not my secret. Ronnie's wanted to keep that night to herself all this time; I'm not going to ruin that for her too." He paused and ran his hands through his hair. "You need to get away from me. If you knew...what I did that night...you'd never speak to me again. I just can't believe he'd actually..."

"What are you talking about?"

"Please don't ask me that," Dick pleaded. "If I'm right, you don't want to know, and I can't be the one to tell you."

Mac drew in a deep breath. "Okay, let's talk about you then. You tried drugging Madison? So she'd have sex with you?"

"I'd probably have taken a hand job and called it a win, but yeah, some kind of sexual favor was what I was going for."

"That's sexual assault, Dick."

"I realize that now. I didn't think about it like that back then."

"And what are you teaching your teenage son, Dick?" Mac asked. "How is he thinking about it?"

"The right way. Both Veronica and I talked to him when things were heating up at school. I didn't get why she was so angry at the time but now..." He blanched. "I just thought it was about Mercer. Turns out it was about me."

"It was you a long time ago, Dick. I'm not excusing it but I think you've changed. I think Veronica thinks you have too."

"She said that earlier today. I wonder if she still feels that way."

"Why wouldn't she? I don't think she learned anything new today. This was about Wallace finding out. He's probably going to need some time." An unpleasant thought flitted into her head. "Does Logan know?"

Dick moaned and dropped his head into his hands. "I don't think so. If he'd known I hurt Ronnie, he'd have been done with me a long time ago." He bent over further, his head almost resting on his knees and his hands clutching the back of his head. "Oh shit, no, no, no," he repeated in a plaintive voice as he rocked back and forth.

Mac stared at him with no idea how to respond to his display of grief. Whatever he wouldn't tell her, he was sure it was enough that Logan would not be able to forgive him. She wondered if she would be able to, if anyone would ever tell her what needed forgiveness. "Dick?" she said gently, patting his back. She was pretty sure that it must have been something bad if he was reacting this strongly but she still felt the need to comfort him. "Dick, try to calm down. Veronica's been tolerating you for a long time and lately, it's seemed like more than just tolerance. Whatever this is, if she can get past it, I'm sure Logan will be able to also. You guys have been friends for a long time."

"He won't. Even if she has. He won't be able to forgive me. Logan's the only person left who cares about me, other than Cole, but that's just a default thing, once he found out he was my kid. And once Logan hears about this, I'm alone. Like I deserve to be." He jumped up and began to pace around the room.

"Hey!" Mac said, a little irritated by his words. "More people than Logan care about you. What about me? Don't I count for anything?"

Dick stopped and looked at her sadly. "You count for a lot. But you're gonna hate me too." He stepped closer to her. "Please don't shut out Cole. He really likes you. Maybe you can still do stuff with him once in a while?"

"Dick, you've gotta stop."

"No, I can't. I have to be ready for what comes next. Don't make promises to make me feel better right now when you don't know if you'll want to keep them later." He turned away from her, resting his hands against the abandoned poker table and leaning heavily on them. "Go home, Mackie. Please. Just go home."

"Dick, I just want—"

"Mac, once you know what's going on, if you want to come back, I'll be happy to see you. Hell, I'll be thrilled. But right now, please, I need you to go. Please."

Mac stood up. "All right, I'll do what you want. Tell Cole I'll call him next week and we'll have dinner. Okay?"

Dick nodded, still not looking at her as she headed for the door. "Thanks, Mac. I'll tell him."

* * *

Veronica ran down the porch stairs, not wanting Wallace to get away before she could talk to him. She slowed when she saw his car still parked next to hers, with him sitting inside with his head leaning against the steering wheel.

She walked to the passenger door and rapped lightly on the window. Wallace sat up quickly, glancing toward her before hitting the automatic lock button. She opened the door and slid into the car.

"You okay?" she asked, already knowing the answer from the tears on his face.

"I'm so sorry, Vee. I know I just told a bunch of people something that you didn't want anyone to know. I just started putting together what I was hearing with what you told me before, and I...oh God, I lost it." He hid his face again, leaning in to the steering wheel. "I am so sorry."

"I know, Papa Bear, don't beat yourself up." She reached over and rubbed his upper arm. "The only thing you really spilled was me getting that drink that Dick meant for Madison. Anything else that happened that night is still in limited distribution and I'd like it to stay that way as much as possible. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Wallace sat up again and looked at her. "You're all worried about me. What about you? Are you all right?"

"I knew this information already, Wallace. It's not a huge shock the way it is for you. For me, the issue is other people knowing something about me that I don't really want known. I'm just glad this didn't happen while Rob and Tracy were there. Or Cole, either. He doesn't need to know that about his dad, or about me."

"I can't believe you're thinking about Cole right now. How do you even deal with Dick Casablancas, knowing what you do about him? And Logan, how is he still best friends with that guy? I'm not sure how I'm even going to look at him again, let alone hang around with him."

"Logan doesn't know about Dick's involvement."

Wallace's eyebrows flew up as his mouth fell open. "You never told him that Dick drugged you? Why not? You let him be best buddies with the guy who set you up to be raped?" He shook his head. "He's gonna lose his mind when he hears about this." He looked at her suspiciously. "You know you have to tell him now, right?"

"Of course, I do," she replied, indignant at his rebuke. "Now that this is no longer my personal private business—"

"Because of me, I get it. I'm sorry. For outing your private business and for lecturing you. I had no right." He hung his head again.

"You're forgiven. Now let's get out of here. I need to think."

"What about your car?"

"It's fine here. You'll take me home, right? Spend some time with me while I figure this out?"

"You got it, Supafly. I'm with you."

* * *

Veronica sat on her couch, watching Wallace pace. Pony sat beside her, head tracking with his movements. "Truly, Wallace, I know that what Dick did that night with the GHB, trying to get Madison to sleep with him, that was beyond wrong. How can you think I don't know that? What I'm trying to say is that Dick wasn't trying to hurt me when he did that."

"It doesn't matter what he intended to do." Wallace whirled at the end of the room, gesticulating hands emphasizing his outrage. "He did a stupid, illegal, immoral thing, and it didn't work out the way he planned, but that didn't keep you safe. I don't care what he planned; I care what ended up happening."

"I understand that."

Wallace stopped and glared at her. "Then why are you defending that stupid ass?"

"Because it was fourteen years ago, Wallace. I've had a long time to sort out my feelings about everything that happened that night and make decisions about my response. Dick did not care that he did something that could hurt Madison and he didn't care that someone else could get hurt too. I legitimately believe that he does care now and I also believe that he's serious about making sure that his kid knows what's right."

"And that's enough for you to let him off the hook?"

"That's not exactly what's happening here. I'm just not going to get down and start wallowing in this again. Well, I don't plan on it any more than I have to while I try to stop both you and Logan from doing anything stupid."

Wallace laughed bitterly. "I never thought I'd get to a point in my life where hit first, ask questions later, seemed like a good way to behave. But it was kinda nice taking a page from Logan's playbook. I'd love to go back to Dick's right now and make him sorry he was ever born."

"I'm pretty sure that he's already feeling that way. Did you notice that he didn't even try to hit you back?"

"I don't care. It's not enough." He walked to the couch and slumped next to her. "I just want him to pay for what he did to you."

Veronica put her arm around his shoulders and hugged him against her. "I really and truly believe that he is paying already. You aren't going to need to extract my pound of flesh."

Pony sat up from where she was sprawled on the other side of Veronica and stepped across Veronica's legs, trying to nose in on the hug. Wallace chuckled as he gently pushed her back.

"She's as needy and jealous of your attention as her father," he said.

"Nah, it's not about me. She just can't stand to not be involved. She's a busybody."

"Now she sounds like her mother," Wallace teased and she scoffed and socked him gently in the arm. They sat in good-natured silence for a few minutes before Wallace spoke again.

"What _are_ you going to tell him?"

Veronica considered for moment. Wallace didn't know it, but she had more to tell Logan than he realized although there was no way in hell she was talking with Wallace about Dick's other actions that night. "I don't exactly know yet. Just the truth, I guess." She shook her head. "Who would have thought I'd end up glad to have him away for a few more days while I figure this out?"

Wallace shifted them around so his arm was around her shoulders and she was tucked into his side. "Well, I'm here for you, whatever you need. Just let me know."

She smiled up at him. "Thanks, lil brother."

* * *

Veronica didn't sleep well. Any brief periods of restful slumber were interrupted by dreams where Wallace and Logan took turns punching Dick. She kept trying to stop them but they either acted like she wasn't there or one would hold her back while the other punched. At about 5:30 AM, she gave up on trying to sleep and got up to make coffee.

Pony glared balefully at her from her bed when Veronica started turning lights on, then rolled over facing away from the light.

"Sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep, Pone," Veronica said with a smile.

Veronica was nearly finished with her second cup of coffee when the dog got up and moved to the table where she sat at Veronica's feet, looking up at her piteously.

"Food and then out?" Veronica asked and Pony's tail beat on the floor. "Okay then." She fed the dog and went back into the bedroom for shoes and a sweatshirt to wear over her pajama sweatpants and tank. When she came back out, Pony was sitting by the front door, her leash in her mouth.

"How'd you get that down?" she asked suspiciously. Pony dropped the leash at her feet. "Did Cole teach you that?"

Pony yipped.

"Hmm." Veronica picked up the leash and snapped it on the dog's collar, grateful that the slobbery part was more toward the middle of the leash length and not up at the top loop. She opened the door and they stepped out into the morning chill, but were brought to a halt by the presence of Dick sitting on the stairs.

"I don't think I've ever seen you out this early without a surfboard in your hands," Veronica said and Dick startled at her voice. As he twisted to look at her, she was struck by the look of exhaustion on his face.

"How long have you been sitting here? You look like death warmed over."

Dick shrugged. "I dunno. A while."

"Most people knock when they come to visit."

"It was too early. I didn't want to disturb you." He lumbered to his feet. "Do you mind? Talking to me?"

"No more than usual," she said, snarky with him as she normally would be before she realized that today would probably be easier without as much smartassery. "No, seriously, I'm fine talking to you. I've gotta take Pony out to do her thing though, so you can either come with us or wait here until we're back."

"I'll come with if you don't mind." He went down the steps ahead of them, then waited to let them set the direction and pace. They didn't speak as they worked their way down to the open space where Pony did her business and then further down to the small beach area.

Veronica was trying to figure out how to start this conversation herself when Dick finally spoke.

"Why didn't you tell me? Rain vengeance on my head? I drugged you and I'm pretty sure my little brother raped you because I told him to. I never thought in a million years that he would, but like you told me the last time we talked about this—I never would have pegged him as a mass murderer either but he was. So why didn't you ever try to get back at me?"

"What would it have helped?"

He looked at her like she'd gone crazy. "What kinda question is that? If you could've gotten some vengeance, the Ronnie Mars I know always would've gone for it. I just don't get this."

"I did run over your surfboard," she reminded him.

"Oh yeah, that sucked. Was that when you found out?"

She paused, considering her words. "No, actually, that was before. I did that just because you were being a dick." She rolled her eyes at her own inadvertent pun. "I figured out about Madison and the drugged drink later."

"So my question's the same. Why haven't you try to get back at me? And why haven't you told Logan?"

They reached a bench and Veronica sat down, then unhooked Pony's leash. The dog nosed at Dick, but when he dropped onto the bench next to Veronica, she turned toward the water, charging at the seagulls that darted through the foamy surf.

"There are a lot of different reasons I made the choices I did but I'm not all that anxious to hash them out with you."

"The only thing I can think of is that you didn't want Logan to ditch me. I just don't get why. If you told him everything, he'd have beaten the shit out of me and never spoken to me again." Dick looked at her, his face twisted in confusion. "That sounds like a great outcome for you.

"Yeah, but not so much for Logan. He was pretty isolated back then. Once Duncan took off, you were practically his only friend."

Dick leaned back on the bench. "Everyone wanted to be around him back then. He wouldn't have missed me."

"He would have. There were always plenty of people willing to hang around, but did he care about any of them? And did any of them actually care about him? It was more about what they could get from him. At least with you, you weren't trying to bleed him dry."

"That's a shitty reason, Veronica. You could have gotten back at me and you don't so your boyfriend has a friend? I never took you as the type to sacrifice your own interests like that."

"There's more, but like I said, I don't plan to discuss my every thought with you. Just take the win and stop hassling me." She sighed and shook her head. "Can you do that please?"

"I guess. Will you tell me though? Did Beav...actually...did he..." He ducked his head into his hand and his voice dropped to a whisper. "...rape you?"

"Yes." She wasn't capable of an outright lie at this point and any hesitation would tell the story anyway.

Dick groaned like he was in pain. "Oh God, I'm so sorry. I know I can't do anything to fix this, but I am so sorry."

"I believe that you're sorry, but you're right; you can't do anything about this." She looked at him sadly. "Look, I really don't want to spend a lot of time on this. You're going to have to figure out how to deal with this on your own, just like I did. And this time around, I'm gonna have to tell Logan. Too many other people know for me to try to keep this a secret. I don't know exactly what he's going to do. For my part, I've been pretty much okay with you lately and this doesn't really change that. But you know Logan. I'm going to try to do what I can to keep him from losing it, mainly because I don't want him doing something that could get him taken away from me, but I think you're gonna need to be prepared for whatever he decides to do. Got it?"

"I'm ready. Whatever he wants to do to me...I'm ready."

"You make it sound like he's going to strap you down and pull out your fingernails. He'll probably punch you for a while and then stop talking to you."

"Pretty sure I'd prefer the fingernails to the silent treatment."

"Pretty sure it's not up to you." She stood up and whistled for the dog. "Like I said, I don't want to talk this out. I know you're struggling but I can't really help you. Just keep pushing along and I think Logan will come around after a while. Not right away though. You've gotta give him some room to figure out his feelings. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it."

She nodded and fastened Pony's leash, then fixed him with a stern glare. "And you do not get to talk about me with anyone else. No one except you and Logan know about Beaver and I want it to stay that way. No explanations of anything to Mac or Casey or anyone else. This is my personal business. Please keep it that way."

He nodded. "Mac tried getting stuff out of me last night but I told her if there was anything that she didn't already know, then they weren't my secrets to tell. I'm not going to say anything."

"Good. Thank you." She turned toward where the dog was straining on the leash, then swiveled back to where he remained slumped on the bench. "Are you coming back with us?"

"No. I'm gonna hang out down here for a while. Thanks for talking to me. I wouldn't blame you if you'd never speak to me again."

She shrugged. "I pretty much did that for a while. I'm past that place now. You were a stupid jerk who didn't care about anyone but yourself and I paid the price. I don't think you're that guy anymore. And I believe that you're sorry. Plus, you're not the first person I've forgiven for things that happened that night. Just don't make me sorry. You understand, Dick?" He nodded again, head still down. "Okay, good. So, when you're done down here, come back to the apartment and knock this time. I need a ride back to your house to get my car."

He looked up at her, surprise on his face. "Sure. I won't be a long time."

"Thanks," she said as she turned to let the dog pull her back up the path to the apartment.

* * *

Veronica was in the office early on Monday morning. She'd dodged Mac's calls all day Sunday, finally sending her a text that just said they'd talk on Monday. She considered finding something to keep her out of the office but her dad had a mid-morning meeting out-of-town so she didn't think it would be right to abandon Mac in the office alone. Although she wasn't thrilled about the idea, she decided she might as well face the music.

"Hey, Bond." Mac stood in her doorway, looking hesitant. "How are you doing?"

"Eh, it's Monday. Expectations aren't usually that high." She smirked at Mac but did not get a similar response.

"Can we not do that?" Mac asked. "I've been going nuts since Saturday night, trying not to imagine the worst and not really succeeding. Dick was a basket case after you and Wallace took off but he wouldn't tell me anything. I know you've got a right to your privacy but..." Her voice trailed off and she looked away.

"I'm sorry I left you hanging yesterday. Dick was sitting outside my door first thing in the morning and after I dealt with him, I just needed to decompress."

"You don't have to apologize. I just want to know that you're okay."

"I'm fine, Q," Veronica answered. "All the stuff that happened, it was a really long time ago. As I've told Wallace and Dick, it's not like I'm over it, I'm just not letting it rule me."

"Dick drugged you. Accidentally, sorta, when he tried to drug Madison."

"Yeah, that's right." It wasn't too hard to just confirm things.

"And then, from the way Wallace reacted, I think something else happened to you. Maybe like happened to Parker?" Mac was still in the doorway, turned so she was facing the door jamb, one hand tracing along the molding, not meeting Veronica's gaze.

"Yeah, sorta. Not exactly like Parker but basically, yeah. I don't remember what happened to me but I know what happened. You know?"

"Uh huh. And Wallace knows?"

"Yes. I told him after I figured it out, junior year of high school." Veronica squirmed in her chair. "I needed someone and he was there for me. He helped me through a really hard time."

"I'm glad he could do that for you." Mac finally looked away from the wall. "Does Logan know?"

"Not about Dick's part. I'm gonna have to tell him, since other people know now."

"Dick's sure that Logan won't be able to forgive him," Mac said. "Is he right?"

"I don't know. Maybe. We'll have to wait and see. I hope not. Dick's a big part of Logan's life. I'd hate for that to be gone entirely. And I feel like we've all got roles to play in helping Dick with Cole. It takes a village, you know? Dick parenting completely by himself doesn't seem like the best idea."

"He wanted me to promise that I would still do stuff with Cole, even if I hated him—Dick, not Cole—now." She slipped into Veronica's client chair. "I told him I'd take him to dinner this week."

Veronica leaned heavily on her desk, the heel of her hand propping up her forehead. "Don't hate Dick. A few years ago, sure, I'd have been fine with that, suggested it even, but now? It's not worth it. Just keep on doing what you've been doing. That's the best thing. There's going to be enough upheaval with Logan."

"I don't know, Veronica," Mac said, shifting nervously in her chair. "Is it really fair for you to ask me to just go along like nothing happened when for everyone else he's _persona non grata_? If he did something bad enough to make Wallace hit him like he did, and bad enough that his best friend might not be friends with him anymore, is it right to make me act like nothing happened?"

"I'm not making you do anything. Just don't make any decisions trying to be loyal to me. I hope you'll still be his friend. I'm going to try to still be...whatever we've become in the last several weeks. I'll have to balance Logan's feelings in there too but I'm hoping their years of friendship will win out in the end."

"This is so weird." Mac shook her head. "All those years of barely tolerating him and now you're advocating for him."

"Trust me, I know," Veronica answered. "No one's more surprised than me. Except maybe for Dick. He's pretty surprised too."

"All right. I'll play this like you want." Mac stood up and walked to the door, then stopped and looked back at Veronica. "I presume that Daddy Mars is unaware of this entire situation."

"He is. That's another subject I need to think about. I don't want to tell him—I probably still won't tell him—but I am going to have to think about it. I'll probably talk to Logan about that, once he stops being mad at me that I never told him everything."

"He's back on Thursday?"

Veronica nodded. "Yeah, and he's got liberty until the following Monday so I'll probably take Thursday and Friday off and take him somewhere to welcome him home, and, once he's all relaxed and pliable, confess."

Mac chuckled. "You're probably going to have to relax him a lot."

"It's so different talking to you instead of Wallace. If I'd made that relaxed and pliable comment to him, he'd be covering his ears and going 'la la la la la'. You, on the other hand..."

"I'm a realist," Mac interrupted. "Wallace, he's an innocent."

"Yeah, it's true. Even though he's pretty sure he's a playa." They both laughed. "So, thanks, Q, for your concern, and even more for just taking the little bit of information I'm willing to share and being satisfied. I really appreciate that you get me."

"We're fairly similar in this area. If I were in your situation, I'd probably be responding in the same way you are. So yeah, I get you." She smirked at Veronica. "See, a lot of girls would be hugging and getting all teary right about now, but us? No way."

"That's us. Q and Bond, far too cool for pesky emotional displays." They smiled at each other for a moment, then Mac turned and walked out of the room.

* * *

Veronica stood next to Logan's car, watching people mill around in the parking lot, waiting for their returning loved ones. This had been a very short cruise so there was not the party atmosphere that she'd heard about when a carrier returned from a long deployment. Some of the returning sailors just walked out to cars they'd presumably parked on base two weeks earlier, and drove away, no welcoming party to greet them.

She spotted Logan come out of the long, low building that had swallowed him up as she watched two weeks ago. After the emotional week she'd had, the urge to run to him was strong but she managed to play it cool and wait for him, hoping she looked even half as enticing as he always did as she leaned against the car. When he was a few feet away from her, she straightened up and took a step toward him.

"Hey, flyboy, need a ride?"

He scooped her up and spun her around, laughing low in his throat as he nuzzled her neck. "Do I ever." He set her on her feet and leaned down for a long kiss. When they broke apart, he rested his forehead on hers, his hands cupped around the back of her neck.

"I missed you," they both said together, and laughed. Logan kissed the top of her head and picked up his bag that had dropped to the ground when he picked Veronica up.

"Are you going to take me home and show me how much you missed me?" he asked as he dropped his bag in the backseat. "Or do you have to go back to work?"

"Nope, no work. All yours until you have to go back to work. But we're not going home." Veronica walked around the car and got into the driver's seat. "Get in."

Logan scrunched up his face in mock displeasure. "I don't get to drive my own car?"

"You don't know where we're going."

"Maybe not, but I take direction extremely well," he responded but he was already climbing into the passenger seat.

"That's good. I have all kinds of directions to give you once we're safely locked away in our hotel room." She reached over to trail her finger up his thigh.

"I don't need directions for that," he said, grabbing her hand and lifting it to his mouth to kiss her palm. "I haven't been away that long."

She smiled as his lips moved from her palm to her wrist but her thoughts were a jumble. _Maybe not that long but so much has happened._ She was ecstatic that he was back with her but she felt sneaky. She'd kept this information from him for years and never felt bad about it but now deliberately avoiding the difficult topic until she could get him to the same cottage at the Hotel del Coronado where they'd stayed the last time he came home felt like bait and switch.

"Veronica?"

His voice snapped her away from the swirling in her brain. "Oh, sorry, you distracted me." She looked in his warm brown eyes and her resolve returned. "It seems like you've been away for so long."

"Well, then, let's get this show on the road. I've got a fiancée who hasn't been ravished in fourteen long days and I kinda feel like I'm obligated to make that up to her."

"I certainly wouldn't want to get in the way of your obligations. We're going now." She slid her hand from his, then reached up to stroke his cheek. "I have missed you so much."

"Glad to hear that. I'd hate to be the only one in that condition."

She smiled again, then turned away from him to turn the car on. Yes, she had some hard news to deliver but it had waited this long. It could wait a while longer until he'd had a proper welcome home.


	15. Chapter 15

_Sending good thoughts to everyone in the path of my namesake hurricane._

* * *

Veronica woke up smiling. After two weeks in a cold, lonely bed, she was happy to wake up stretched across Logan. She dropped a kiss on his chest and then started to roll to the side but she was stopped by a pair of arms locking her in place.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" a teasing voice asked.

"Umm, the bathroom?" she responded as she lifted her head for the first time to look up at him with a cheeky grin. "Is that okay?"

He grinned back at her. "I guess. As long as you promise to come right back."

"I promise." She stretched up for a quick peck on the lips and he loosened his grip.

When she came back a few minutes later, he was asleep again, curled on his side. She slid in beside him and his eyes opened.

"You're back," he mumbled and tugged her against him, wrapping his arms around her and tucking her head under his chin.

"Yes, I am," she confirmed as she wormed her own arm under him so she could hug him tightly. "It's so good to have you home. I missed you."

"Me too." He kissed the top of her head. "So, do we have plans for the day?"

"Not really, no. I just know that you weren't gone long enough for us to stay holed up in here naked for three days like last time. By this afternoon, we need to get out in the world for a while at least, even if it's just down to the beach."

He chuckled and she could feel it echo through his chest. "You're gonna put clothes on? The way I remember the last trip, you were the one who never got dressed. I, at least, put on enough clothes to answer the door for our food a few times a day."

She pulled her head back enough to fix him with a playful glare. "The way I remember it, every time I tried to put on something more than my robe, you peeled it right back offa me. So don't get all, 'oh—are you finally getting dressed?' on me."

"You sound unnecessarily tense," he said in a very serious voice. "I think you might need a little help with that."

She made a scoffing sound. "Oh, really? How generous you are. My hero."

"It's about time you realized that." She rolled her eyes violently at him and he raised his eyebrows at her, giving her a wounded face before he began to tickle her unmercifully. She giggled and shrieked as she thrashed around, trying to avoid his fingers, but they were too close and his arms too long for her to get away. After a few moments, she began to fight back, only pinching instead of tickling.

"Hey!" he shouted after she'd gotten in a few hards tweaks on his backside. "No fair." He rolled onto his back, pulling her with him and trapping her arms under his body. "I'm trying to do something nice and you're pinching. That's just mean."

"What exactly were you doing that was nice?" she asked, wrenching her arms free and crossing them on his chest as she looked down at him.

"I told you. You sounded tense. I was trying to relax you."

"And your plan was tickling?" She gave him her most skeptical face.

"Of course," he said innocently. "What did you think I meant?" As her eyebrows rose higher in disbelief, he drew in a sharp breath. "Oh, you dirty girl."

She dropped her head down to rest on his chest, laughing at his faux innocent act. "Uh huh. I'm the dirty one."

He rolled them again and she wrapped her legs around him as he braced himself above her. "And I'm grateful every day," he said before leaning down to kiss her.

* * *

Several hours later, they strolled hand-in-hand down the resort's beach. Veronica was stuffed full of breakfast—eggs, bacon, country potatoes, and pastries, lot of pastries—and she was still making appreciative noises that Logan loved to hear.

"Oh my God, that cinnamon roll. That was so good. And the fried potatoes. They were perfect." She leaned into Logan's arm. "I can't believe you had oatmeal and fruit."

"What's wrong with oatmeal and fruit?" Logan asked, releasing her hand to drop his arm over her shoulders and pull her closer. He'd missed touching her even if he had only been gone for two weeks. "You like oatmeal. And fruit."

"Yeah, but we're on this mini-vacation, and there were so many good things to choose from and you picked the boring, every day choice."

"Eggs and bacon _are_ an everyday choice on the boat. If you'd had something more involved, like a quiche, maybe that argument would make sense but you're didn't, so it doesn't." She humphed and he laughed. "We did have fruit the whole time for this short trip but usually, after about three weeks, we're pretty much out of anything fresh. Canned fruit's okay but it's not the same as something that's just been cut into."

"Okay, you can eat what you want. I won't hassle you anymore." She reached up and clasped the hand on her shoulder. "My breakfast was still way yummier than yours but that's your loss. That pineapple though, it was pretty good. I'll give you that." She turned her head to kiss his hand, then wrapped her arm around his waist, tucking in close beside him. They walked in silence for a few more minutes, then Veronica pointed their joined hands a little bit up from the water at a cluster of rocks. "Can we sit for a bit?"

"Sure." They made their way up the slight incline, then Logan sat in the sand, leaning up against the rocks and pulling Veronica into his lap. "Too full to walk any further?"

"No, nothing like that." She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"You finally going to spill whatever you've been hiding since I got back?" he asked, chuckling at her sudden intake of breath and startled face.

"What are you talking about?" she asked but he had her number; her reaction had already confirmed for him what he'd thought since their drive from the base to the resort.

"You've been holding something back. I figured that out in the car. But you were in a good mood and I figured that you'd tell me when you were ready so I didn't see a need to push. And look, I was right. Here you are, ready to talk."

"You don't know that," she said, sounding defensive.

"I'm sorry; was I wrong?" He looked down at her and she looked at him fiercely for a moment, then hid her face in his chest.

"No, you were right," she said in a muffled voice, then straightened back up and met his eyes again. "I'm sorry. Kneejerk reaction."

"I know. It's okay." She started to shake her head and he gently caught her chin with his fingers and cupped her cheek with his palm. "It really is okay. I want you to feel like you can tell me whatever you need to but I know that some habits are hard to break. Even so, you stopped yourself from hiding almost immediately and you acknowledged that that urge was just a reflex. So don't get all critical of yourself. Okay?"

"Okay," she said quietly, leaning against his shoulder again. "I hope you can remember all those things you just said when I'm done telling you what I need to tell you."

Logan leaned forward enough to be able to see her face. "What does that mean?"

"I think you might be mad at me when you hear what I have to say."

A feeling of dread crept over him. Logically, he knew she wasn't going to tell him they were through, or she was leaving again, or anything like that, but as he'd just said to her, some habits are hard to break, and the fear of losing her was still pretty deeply engrained in his psyche.

"Umm, I think an explanation of that would be nice right about now. And just to start the conversation off, you're not leaving me, right?"

She gasped. "Logan, no!"

"Okay then." He gave a sigh of relief and kissed her temple. "Then even if I'm mad, it'll be fine."

"I hope so." She squirmed out of his lap and sat cross-legged next to him in the sand. Logan watched her grab sand in both hands, then dribble it through her closed fists. He wanted to start quizzing her about whatever was on her mind but he was sure that would be counterproductive. When she was ready, she'd talk.

She looked up at the sky briefly, then drew in a deep breath and lowered her gaze to meet his.

"Okay...so...pretty much exactly eleven years ago, you and I got stuck up on a roof with Cassidy Casablancas and learned some stuff we didn't want to know."

Logan felt his face go slack with shock at her topic. Of all the things she could have said, this was one he would never have predicted.

"Uhh, yeah, I guess that's true." He couldn't even think of more of a response.

"And it's fair to say that when it was done, once we were off the roof and I knew that little bastard hadn't killed my dad, we never talked about that night again. Except a little bit in the last few months, since Cole got here." She wasn't looking at him anymore; she'd returned to grabbing fistfuls of sand and was focusing on watching it pour out of her hands.

"That's true, too," he answered. "I tried to get you to talk over the summer but you didn't want to and I was afraid to push you. Plus, I didn't want to talk about Aaron so I didn't think I could push you to face certain things without running the risk of you putting me on the spot about my stuff."

"Wise choice," she said with a thin-lipped smile. "I would have done exactly that if I thought it would get you to back off."

"So we both hid from our major traumas that summer and wondered why we were a mess." He reached out for her hand and she laced her fingers through his.

"Truthfully, I don't think we wondered anything like that," she said thoughtfully. "At least I know that I didn't. We both just did what came naturally. Suppress anything that might make someone think we were vulnerable. Hard, tough, unbreakable fronts."

"I'm the one who taught you that," he said softly. "Never show your soft underbelly because you never know when one of the people you trust the most will try to gut you."

"You weren't the only one to teach me that lesson, but, you were definitely one of my main instructors. But, stupid as your reasoning was for that whole mess, I know that you thought I'd gutted you too."

"I was stupid. How would our lives be different if I hadn't given you the ultimatum about your dad?" He pulled his hand out of hers to run his hands over his head. "How much more time would we have had if I'd thought about what I was doing instead of just lashing out?"

She huffed in exasperation. "This conversation has skidded off the path." She scooted closer and grabbed his hand back. "Stop with the self loathing and listen. I've got some stuff to tell you."

Logan pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "Okay. I'm listening."

She pulled his hand away from his face and held both of his in hers, squarely meeting his eyes. "Back when I was trying to figure out what happened to me at Shelley's party...back when I found out about Duncan...I told you that I'd gotten a drugged drink intended for someone else but I never told you anything else. Back then, where the drug came from didn't seem like it made that much of a difference as far as you and I were concerned so I didn't bother to share that part." She glanced away momentarily. "Then things went sideways for us, with me getting you turned in for Lilly's murder, then with everything that happened that night, with Aaron and Felix and everything, the night of the party never came up again. And I was happy to not talk about it anymore."

"But now?" he prompted.

"Now, by way of a completely out-of-the-blue conversation last week, the person who put the drug in that drink has been exposed and I need you to know also."

He scrunched up his face in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Dick put a dose of GHB in a Coke to try to get Madison to mess around with him. She wouldn't drink it, because it was regular Coke, then she saw me so she spit in it and handed it to me as I walked by. I just took it, like an idiot, drank the whole thing, then got a lot of alcohol forced on me, and lost the night. And my virginity."

"Hang on, hang on." Logan shook his head, trying to understand what he was hearing. "You found out last week that Dick drugged you? Are you sure?"

"Umm...yes, I am sure, but he didn't do it intentionally. He had his sights on Madison, not me. He didn't even realize that I ended up with Madison's drink until last weekend."

Logan continued shaking his head, still trying to put together everything she was telling him. "Dick drugged you. All this time, it's been Dick and we never knew." Flickers of anger began to lick at his brain. "How did this come out now? No one put this together until now?"

"Back when we were working on this recent GHB case at Neptune High," Veronica began, "I told Dick that I knew that he'd tried to drug Madison. I'd been talking to Cole about it not being okay to drug someone to get them to...do something they wouldn't normally do. Dick got a little peeved and told me he could parent his kid himself. I told him I thought I should make sure Cole knew since I wasn't sure that Dick knew it himself. On account of him doing it himself back in high school, you know? After that, he backed off."

Logan sat in silence, trying to absorb the new information. This was all too much. "Okay, but that was weeks ago, not just this last weekend. I'm still lost."

Veronica nodded at him. "Yeah, it was. This weekend, we were at Dick's playing poker. I was teasing Wallace that I knew a secret, you know, about seeing our parents together. Mac asked how I'd found out and Dick made some comment about me knowing all kinds of stuff and then he confessed that I knew about something he'd done a long time ago that he shouldn't have. Casey guessed what he was talking about and Wallace put it together—that I got the drink that Dick had intended for Madison."

He was silent again, sorting the pieces, trying to make them make sense. "But how did you talk to Dick several weeks ago if this only came out last weekend?"

She took a deep breath. "I've known about it since the end of junior year. When I found out what had happened to me, it included how it had happened too."

"You've known it was Dick all this time? And you never told me?" The flickering anger flared but he tamped it down. Blowing up at her probably wouldn't be conducive to getting this story out of her.

"Yes, I've known, and no, I never told you. Don't look at me like that, Logan. You know that back then, when I found out, things between us were still...tenuous. I wanted to trust you but I couldn't go all in. It was too soon after you turning on me to just forget that. I needed Wallace back then. No guilt on his part, no fear on mine. Can you try to understand that?"

He nodded. He did understand, even if he hated what she was saying. He'd been heartless and cruel to her and there'd been no reason back then that she should have trusted him. "I do understand. And I'm glad you had Wallace—"

"Yeah, me too."

"—but what about since then? You never thought to tell me after that?"

Veronica laughed bitterly. "I thought about it. Quite a lot over the years. It just never seemed like the right thing to do." She pulled her hands out of his and turned back toward the water, picking up fistfuls of sand again.

"I don't understand. You hated Dick, and now I get why. But if you'd told me, he'd have been out of our lives. Believe me, he'd have been gone if I'd known about what he did to you." He reached out and stroked his fingers down her arm. When she didn't respond, he had a sudden, ugly thought. "Were you afraid I wouldn't be mad at him? That I'd pick him over you?"

She looked up at him, surprise on her face. "I don't think I ever thought of that. I guess that was possible but honestly, I don't ever remember thinking that."

"Then why?"

"At first, I just wasn't ready to share. And then stuff blew up and we were back to hurting each other again. And then, after graduation night, I just wanted to lock everything away and not think about it." She looked at him ruefully. "Of course that worked so well."

"Wouldn't getting Dick out of our lives have made it easier?"

"Maybe, but he was the only real friend you had back then. I didn't want to take that away from you."

"Are you serious?" Logan exploded. "You let me live with the guy who got you raped because you thought I couldn't make new friends? What kinda stupid shit is that?"

"Excuse me, but the only new friends that you seemed to make that year were Mercer and your fake brother. Oh, and a number of girls I didn't particularly care for. Dick was several steps above any of those other choices, even with his obvious flaws."

"An actual rapist, a skeezy journalist, and girls I didn't care about in the least. Yeah, I can see why you thought you'd better leave me with Dick." He twisted away from her and pulled his knees up, resting his elbows on them and cradling his head in his hands. "I can't believe this."

"Look, Dick didn't try to do anything to me with the GHB. And if I had broken you guys up, I don't even know if you'd be here now. Dick kept you alive a couple times after I took off and for that alone, I've been willing to tolerate him." She scooted closer to him. "And these days, I actually kinda...almost...like him."

"Your logic is twisted."

"Maybe. I wasn't exactly thinking clearly that year at Hearst and that's the point where I really decided not to tell you. And you _are_ here now, and I think Dick contributed to that, so I stand by the choices I've made."

"Of course, you do. You never think you're wrong." He heaved a frustrated sigh.

"I don't actually believe that, but I try not to let too many people know it." He felt her move closer to him again. "So, are you ready to hear the rest of this?"

"There's more?" He raised his head to look at her guilty face.

"Yeah, 'fraid so. And you're gonna be even madder when I'm done, just warning you ahead." She rested her hand on his leg. "Sorry."

"Okay, spit it out."

"So, Wallace put together what he already knew with what Casey said that night...and then he jumped Dick."

Logan jerked in surprise. "He what?"

"Jumped him. Knocked him out of his chair and punched him multiple times. Until Casey physically pulled him away."

"Casey broke it up?" Logan closed his eyes, trying to picture a Wallace and Dick fight in his head.

"No, there wasn't anything to really break up because Dick never swung on Wallace. Casey just had to pull Wallace off him. Dick tried to cover his face but he never fought back."

He turned his head slightly to look at her again. "Did he know he drugged you?"

"He didn't actually drug me," she said and he waved a hand at her rationalization, motioning her to get on with the story, "and no, he hadn't known I'd gotten the drink he mixed until last weekend."

"So he didn't fight back because he actually felt bad about what he'd done. Good." He closed his eyes again to let the picture of Wallace whaling on a cowering Dick run through his mind.

"He feels really bad. He knows you're going to be angry, really angry, at him, and he's been extremely remorseful about what happened to me."

Logan's head snapped up. "Hold on. About what happened to you. About what exactly? Does he know anything else?" He watched her shrink back a little and felt a wave of nausea.

"Well, Wallace's actions were a little on the extreme side so I think all of them thought there was more to it than just the drugging. Wallace already knew about Duncan, and that's still all he knows about. Mack, she figured out there was something like with Parker, and that's all she knows. I haven't talked to Casey so I'm sure he has suspicions but I'm not gonna have that kind of conversation with him."

"And what does Dick know?"

"He doesn't know about Duncan. He figured out about Cassidy."

"How? Why would he even think Cassidy would do something like that? It shocked the hell out of me. He was so...backward and shy, and Dick certainly didn't have higher expectations of him. I don't get why the thought would even occur to him."

"No, he didn't have higher expectations." She forcibly pulled one of his hands down to wrap in hers. "Okay, this is where it gets really bad. Just try to keep it together, okay."

"Veronica," he began but she shook her head.

"Just listen. At some point that night, Dick and Cassidy and Sean found me passed out somewhere. Dick picked me up and carried me into the spare bedroom where I woke up the next morning. He dumped me on the bed and told Cassidy he should take his shot while he had the chance."

Logan sucked in a shocked breath. "He...what? He..." He pulled his hand free and ran both over his head. He couldn't get much of a grip on his short hair and jumped up to pace as he instead flexed and unflexed his hands.

"He made Cassidy rape you. Oh my God, was he there? How's he been able to look you in the face all this time? Honestly, I can't believe he never bragged about it back then. Oh geez..." He spun back to face Veronica. "Please tell me he didn't do it too."

"Logan, no. He goaded Cassidy and took off with Sean and then I'm pretty sure Cassidy ran off. Then he came back later, found me still there and realized that someone else had done what he was too afraid to do. So he manned up and took his turn."

Her casual description of how she'd been violated was more than he could take. He whirled away and vomited into a trash can behind the rocks they'd been leaning against. He stayed bent over, hands braced against his knees as he sucked in long, sobbing breaths.

"Logan?" she asked in a tentative voice. He felt her hand come to rest on the small of his back and spun away again.

He watched her freeze in place, looking at him warily. "How long have you known about this?"

She sighed and straightened her shoulders. "I found out about Dick goading Cassidy when I was investigating junior year. Both Cassidy and Sean told me. At the time, Cassidy claimed that he'd run away and hadn't touched me. He said that all he'd done was throw up on Carrie's shoes. She definitely confirmed that part and then she pointed me to Duncan and I thought I knew the whole thing. I found out Cassidy had lied to me the day of graduation when I realized Cassidy gave me the chlamydia that Woody had given him."

She stepped toward him and he backed away. "You've known all of this for eleven years, Veronica, and you're just now telling me because you've got no choice. Have I got that straight?"

She nodded and he turned to walk toward the water. He was nearly to the edge of the surf when he felt her hand on his back again and he turned to face her. "I need some time, okay? Just give me that and I'll be back to the room in a while."

"You're coming back. For sure, right?" She stretched her hand toward him again, then dropped it to her side. She looked so sad that, for a moment, he came close to putting his arms around her, but then he flashed on her distressed face on the roof all those years ago and he knew he needed the time to himself.

"I've told you before. I'm always coming back to you. I just need to think." He stepped toward her and kissed her forehead. "Remember when we started this conversation? I told you even if I get mad, we'll be fine. I meant it. I love you. But trust me, right now, I am mad and I need to figure that part out." He squeezed her hand quickly and gave her a half smile. "I'll see you in a while."

* * *

Veronica stood in the sand, watching Logan walk farther up the beach, away from her. She remembered the time he broke up with her freshman year at Hearst. That encounter had physically been similar to this one. He'd held her hand, kissed her head, and walked away. She could still feel that pain like a knife in her chest. At least this time he'd promised to come back.

She wanted to chase him down and drag him back now. She was pretty certain that if she really begged, he'd skip this time to himself and come back with her now. That wasn't fair though. She'd called all the shots in this decision and she owed him a little time to decompress. She was okay with her decision to not tell him before, even if he didn't like it. This whole thing was about something that happened to her. She had a right to deal with it however she wanted, even if that meant leaving Logan in the dark. If something were to happen to her now, she didn't think she'd hide it from him, but this old information, it had been hers to deal with as she saw fit.

She turned around and walked back down the beach toward the hotel. She'd gotten the whole story out and, mad or not, he was still coming back to her. She realized just how scared she'd been of the alternative now that she felt like she was safe from it. She wondered how Dick was holding up as he waited to see what the verdict was on his relationship with Logan. He'd been a wreck on Sunday but he'd seemed a little better when she'd dropped the dog off at his house before driving down to pick up Logan. She suspected that it was more about him having resigned himself to his fate by then. He'd been very subdued and he hadn't begged her to talk Logan into forgiving him, which she'd kinda expected. When all he'd said was drive safe and have a good weekend, she'd realized that he really wasn't holding out any hope of being forgiven.

Veronica let herself into the little cottage and made her way into the kitchenette to pull a pint of ice cream out of the freezer. It may have only been 10:30 AM but she definitely felt the need for Chunky Monkey.

Two hours later, the ice cream was long gone and Logan still wasn't back. She thought about the soaking tub, where he'd found her on their last stay, but she couldn't be sure that he was going to be open to naked times in the tub after all the revelations of the morning. Finally, she went back to the bedroom and curled up in the bed with the Kindle app on her phone and her head on Logan's pillow.

She startled awake some time later with Logan tucked up closely behind her, arms wrapped around her. He was drawing in long, deep breaths, so she assumed he was asleep and she was surprised that she'd been sleeping deeply enough that he'd managed to snuggle up to her without waking her. She laid her hand over his where it rested on her belly, and leaned back against him, closing what little space had been between them. The deep breathing stopped and his fingers spread slightly, giving her room to interlock hers with his.

"You ate all the ice cream," he grumbled in her ear and she laughed softly.

"I guess you shouldn't have been gone so long," she answered.

"Lots to think about," he said quietly and she sobered.

"Anything you want to share?"

"Funny, now you want to share." She sighed and he kissed the top of her head. "Sorry, too soon?"

"No, if you're making jokes that seems like a good sign." She turned in his arms so she was facing him. "This might make you mad again, but I'm not really sorry that I didn't share before. This was my private stuff. I couldn't deal with you knowing back when it was new information and, once I came home, it was so long ago, there was no reason to talk about any of it. I wasn't trying to willfully withhold anything from you in the last year and a half; it just wasn't relevant. As far as I'm concerned, it's still not relevant. It's old news for me that I never expected would need to be discussed. But now that it is out, I absolutely get that it's not old news for you and you need time to process, just like I did. It's the same with Wallace. He can't see Dick right now without wanting to hit him again."

"I wish I could have seen that. I've got a picture of it in my head that's been getting a lot of play." He gazed away and smirked and she knew it was playing again in his head.

"Are you getting ready for your own repeat of the scene?" she asked. "He's pretty much ready to hold still while you pummel him."

"Ugh, that wouldn't last long. Even if I hate him, I couldn't beat someone just standing there and taking it. Sounds too much like me and Aaron." He shuddered and she snuggled against his chest.

"Yeah, I can see that. So probably no violence then? Just freezing him out? He already said he'd rather that you beat him to a pulp than give him the silent treatment."

"Not really his choice."

She chuckled. "I told him _exactly_ the same thing. I just hope you don't feel like you have to completely cut him off. Other than Cole, you're the most important person in his life and I'm hoping that, with time, you'll be able to deal with him as the guy he is now, not the guy who did some incredibly stupid things when he was a teenager."

He looked down at her with his brow furrowed. "And you're okay with him?"

"Mostly. The changes that he's made, since Cole, for the most part, have been making a difference. I doubt he's ever gonna be my favorite person..."

"So we're not switching best friends? Cuz really, I'd take Wallace at this point."

"Nope, no switches. I'll share Wallace with ya, but I'm not giving him up." She stretched up to kiss under his chin. "So, we're okay?"

Logan rolled onto his back and she followed, staying on her side with her hand resting on his chest, as he tucked her under his arm beside him. "I'm not gonna lie and say my feelings aren't hurt that you never confided this in me. And I still think that your logic about not telling me freshman year at Hearst is nuts. You mentioned questionable girls as one of my friend alternates who you didn't like back then. You realize, don't you, that Dick was the one parading girls in and out of the suite, trying to tempt me away from you? You could have cleared him out with this information. And, I'd have gotten to beat the shit out of him because he would have at least tried to fight back."

She nodded, tracing a finger down the letters on his tee shirt. "Maybe you're right, but we can't go back. We've gotta deal with now."

"We're okay. I'm respecting your choices as far as the disclosure piece of this. Dick though, I don't know yet how I'm gonna deal with him. I've thought of all sorts of scenarios but we're just gonna have to wait and see."

"Thank you for not just shutting the door on him. He'll be more than willing to give you whatever space you need if it means he's got a chance of you forgiving him."

"We'll see." He leaned down and kissed her gently. "Even with all the ice cream, I feel like I need to feed you something with a tiny bit of nutritional value. Let's get cleaned up and we'll go find someplace nice to have an early dinner. Then we'll come back here and show each other how okay we really are."

"That sounds good," she replied. She pushed herself to an upright position. "You know, if we share the shower, maybe we can work on that showing part before dinner too."

He sat up, laughing. "Race ya."


	16. Chapter 16

"Logan. Wow. What are you doing here?"

Watching Dick back uncertainly away from his own front door made Logan want to laugh. He'd agreed to play nice with the guy who really had been the most loyal friend he'd ever had. He was going to give him a chance to prove that he was more than just the asshole who'd set Veronica up to be raped twice in one night. But that didn't mean he was just letting him off the hook.

"I've never needed an advance invitation before," Logan said, enjoying how Dick skittered back as Logan stepped into the house.

"You've never actually rung the bell before either," Dick replied.

"No, I guess not." They stood in the entryway for a moment, staring at each other. "I actually came to pick up my dog. Veronica said she left her with you for the weekend while we were out of town. We appreciate you taking her. I know she's a handful sometimes; we'll probably give you a break next time we go somewhere and leave her with Keith."

"What? Why?" Dick sputtered. "She's fine here. Cole loves it when she's here."

"We shouldn't take advantage of you guys," Logan answered coldly and Dick shook his head.

"It's not like that and you know it. You're pissed at me and I get it, you've got plenty of reason, but don't act you can't rely on us for anything you need. Even if you hate me right now, as far as I'm concerned, you're my brother."

"Got any criminal acts you want to encourage me in?" Logan asked and Dick sighed.

"Oh yeah, that is what I do with my brothers, I guess." Dick shook his head and headed for the great room. Logan hesitated for a moment, then followed. "Well, come on then. This is a good time for this. I didn't know you were coming so Cole took Pony for a run. They won't be back for a while so we've got some time." Dick sat on the couch and looked up at Logan expectantly. "All right, let me have it. Whatever you want to say...whatever you want to do. Beat the shit out of me if that helps. I don't care. I know that what I did at that party was horrible. I would do anything to change what happened to Ronnie. Seriously, anything." He paused and frowned. "No, I gotta put a limit on that; I'd do anything that doesn't hurt my kid. I'll take any punishment that you want to hand out. I'll keep apologizing every day for the rest of my life. Whatever it takes to make you see just how sorry I am."

"What do your apologies do here, Dick? Are they going to take us back to that night and get that drink out of Veronica's hand? Are your apologies going to somehow stop you from encouraging your scared, abused, sociopathic little brother to actually rape an unconscious girl? I'm pretty sure they're not, but you keep offering like they somehow matter."

"That's fine, I get it, apologies don't help. What do you think will? Tell me and I'll do it." Logan huffed in irritation and Dick stood up, moving to stand in front of Logan with his hands outstretched. "I mean it, man. Tell me what you want from me."

"I want this to not be true," Logan said, dropping into a chair at the table and resting his head on his hands. "That's what I want."

"I can't help you with that one," Dick said sadly, sitting across from him. "I want that too, but I can't give that to either of us."

They both sat in silence for a few minutes before Dick spoke again.

"Do you at least believe I'm sorry and if I could go back I'd do things differently."

"Sure. Everyone wishes they'd done things differently when they get caught in their bad behavior." Logan jerked a thumb toward his chest. "Trust me, I was the king of that when I was young. Never stopped me from doing something stupid the next time. So, you can probably see why that kind of apology doesn't mean much to me."

"It's not like that!" Dick's raised voice caught Logan by surprise. He'd been prepared for the kicked puppy act and hadn't expected any pushback, only groveling. He fought back a smile. Maybe he was gonna get to hit Dick after all.

"I'm not just sorry I got caught. I didn't even know there was something to get caught in until the other day."

"You forgot you carried Veronica into a bedroom for Beaver?" Logan asked sarcastically.

"No, of course not," Dick answered, "but I didn't think he'd do anything. That was a joke."

"A joke? A JOKE? You think offering my fiancée up to be raped is a joke?" Logan jumped to his feet and Dick did too, backing away from the table.

"You know that's not what I meant," Dick said, his voice surprisingly calm. "And she wasn't your fiancée then; she wasn't even your friend. That doesn't change anything though. I made some terrible choices that night that I am going to regret for the rest of my life. I wish I could do something to make this better for Ronnie, but she's made it pretty clear that she doesn't need anything from me. She's been amazingly...I don't know...amazing. She said she couldn't help me work it out, that I had to do that for myself like she had. But she's still okay with me... she said she knew I wasn't that same person...that I'd grown up since then..."

"That doesn't get you out of this."

"I know that you're not going to be as forgiving about what's happened as she's been. I get it. I know that this could cost me your friendship because it's Ronnie that got hurt and—"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Logan asked, moving toward Dick, trying to keep his fists from clenching.

"What?" Dick stopped backing away, his eyebrows drawn down in confusion.

"Because it's Veronica that got hurt? You think this wouldn't matter if it had been someone else? That doesn't sound like you're all that grown up and enlightened like you claim."

"Of course it would matter," Dick said, and this time he sounded irritated, like Logan was the one being difficult. "No one should have to go through that. But you wouldn't be standing here aching to beat me down if it were anyone else."

"You don't know that..." Logan said, although he recognized that Dick's point was valid.

"Yes, I do, and so do you. What did you do when I told you about Cole?" Dick's voice had turned challenging and Logan felt his control of the conversation, and himself, starting to slip.

"What? What does Cole have to do with any of this?"

"When I told you that I'd gotten a girl pregnant, and couldn't even remember it—couldn't even remember her, before or after—were you morally outraged at my stupid adolescent behavior?" Dick actually took a step toward Logan, poking his index finger toward Logan's chest. "No. You didn't even think about it. And if it had been Maggie, or pretty much anyone else that night at Shelley's, and I'd done the same thing I did with Veronica, and we found out later what Cassidy did to her, I'd still be a mess but you'd be telling me that I made a stupid mistake but what Cass did wasn't my fault."

"That's not true," Logan said, knowing this time that he was outright lying.

"Yes, it is. I'm fine with you valuing Veronica more than some other girl, any other girl, but don't pretend that's not what's happening." Dick jerked his chin at Logan. "And while we're truth-telling here, let's not forget that the first sexual assault on Ronnie that night started with you."

Logan hit Dick then. It wasn't even a conscious thought; he was standing there listening one moment and was punching the next. Almost as quickly as it had come, the red haze in his head cleared and he stopped with his fist on the way down for what he thought would have been his fourth punch. Dick was on the floor, cringing and bleeding around his nose and mouth, but his hands were out to his sides, not hitting back and not even guarding himself. Logan's left hand was gripping the front of Dick's shirt, pulling him into the next punch. As soon as he realized what he was doing, Logan released his grasp and jumped away from him.

"Jesus," he muttered to himself, as he paced around the room. He saw Dick stagger to his feet and lean heavily against the table, gingerly touching his face.

"That's all ya got?" Dick asked. "That wasn't the legendary beat down I always hear about."

"I don't hit people who aren't hitting back." Logan stopped pacing and turned to watch Dick who was actually grinning, his teeth bloody.

"Is that really true?" Dick's teasing voice was at odds with the blood dripping off his chin. "I don't think Piss probably hit you back when you ambushed him on the radio that one time."

"At least he tried," Logan said wearily, sitting back in the chair he'd jumped out of a few minutes earlier. "Not very well, but still. You didn't even try."

"Nope," Dick said. "This is about Ronnie, whether you want to admit it or not, and I think you've got a right to your revenge." He dropped into his chair again. "Look, dude, I get how you feel about her. I'm not saying I know how you feel exactly because I've never really been there myself but I do know how I felt when I thought that Nathan guy might have done something to Cole, and I know how much I wanted to put a hurt on Woody when I heard what he'd done to Beav, so I definitely understand you." He shrugged. "Course, Beav took care of Woody directly, so there was nothing for me to do then but try to forget."

Dick wiped at his face with the bottom of his tee shirt. "You don't have much to do either, I know. Ronnie's all, 'I'm fine, it was a long time ago,' and, with no decent vengeance to lay down, I'm pretty sure all you've got left to do is think about what you did to her too. That's why you're so worked up."

"Stop analyzing me. It's creepy."

"Not wrong though, am I?" Dick swiped at his mouth with his tee shirt again, then looked at the gory splotch and grimaced.

"I'm mad at YOU. Yes, I'll always be sorry for what I did that night, but that doesn't change anything where you're concerned. Yes, I've been holding a grudge against myself for a very long time but I'm not just taking that out on you. There's plenty to be pissed about where you're concerned without some crazy anger displacement thing like you seem to be suggesting. Own your shit, Dick."

"Oh, believe me, I am. I get holding the grudge against yourself, man; I'm pretty sure I'll be doing that for the longterm." Dick leaned back in the chair and Logan was almost aggravated to see tears in his eyes. He was not ready to feel sorry for Dick. "I know that there's every chance that you're gonna hold this against me forever and I'm gonna lose my best friend and that almost kills me. But I'm not lying when I tell you that even that isn't as bad as knowing that I did something that went so absolutely bat shit wrong without even thinking about who I might be hurting, and _I never even knew it_. Because I did that to Cassidy, and to Maggie, too, and who knows who else's life was completely changed, and not in a good way, because I just did whatever I wanted and kept on going, bulling my way through my over-privileged life."

Logan stood up and walked toward the door.

"Dude, where are you going?"

"Away from you," Logan answered, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Logan stretched his legs out in front of him, digging his toes into the warm sand. If he had any sense, he'd just go home and lose himself in Veronica instead of sitting here moping on the beach. He knew she was watching and waiting for some reaction from him and smacking Dick around and disappearing for a few hours was probably going to make her nervous. He'd taken off for a while after she'd 'fessed up about Dick's involvement in her rape but once he'd come back, they hadn't spoken about the issue much more.

She'd obviously been uncomfortable when they got home and he'd volunteered to go get Pony. He was always the one who did that when they came home after a few days away, so that shouldn't have been anything unusual. This time though, when he grabbed the keys to her SUV, she'd suggested they both go and, when he declined, he'd seen the concern on her face as he walked out.

That had been three hours ago and he figured she was losing her very inquisitive mind by now. That thought amused him and made him feel guilty simultaneously. He was still smarting over her thirteen year old secret, which was why he kinda liked the idea of leaving her hanging out in the wind waiting for information. On the other hand, he felt like he needed to respect how she handled her personal trauma. She had a right to her privacy; he just really wished she didn't want privacy where he was concerned. It made him feel shut out and alone, feelings he equated with the bad old days, like at Hearst, before she left him alone for so long.

At least back then he'd had Dick, although she was right, if she'd told him the truth when she knew it, he probably wouldn't have. That was one of her excuses for never telling him; she hadn't wanted him to be alone. She was convinced that if Dick hadn't been around after she left, Logan would likely have managed to kill himself in one way or another. Overdose, car accident, murdered by a gangbanger of one variety or another. He'd managed to piss off the PCHers, the Fitzpatricks, and the Russian mob before she even left town so who knows, maybe she was right. It had also occurred to him as he'd walked on the beach on Coronado Island yesterday, that even obnoxious Dick was probably a relief for her back in the day. At least he'd had someone else to hang around with besides her. She was always going off on her own back then and getting into situations that made him want to tear his hair out. Without Dick to distract Logan, it would have been harder for her to ditch him and run off to do whatever ridiculous risky thing popped in her head.

Logan sighed and pulled his knees up again, leaning his face against them. He didn't want to dwell on what teenaged Veronica had chosen to do. She'd changed a lot since then...just like he had...truthfully, just like Dick had. Emotionally, he was angry about everything she'd kept from him but when he thought rationally, he knew that she'd had her reasons and some of them were good ones.

His anger at Dick though—there was no way to look rationally at what Dick had done and just excuse him. Same as there was no way to look at what Logan himself had done to Veronica back in the same period of time without being horrified. Dick wasn't wrong, part of the reason Logan was so upset was because revisiting that night, and what Veronica had gone through, brought his own bad behavior front and center again.

It wasn't even the salt lick that really drove his feelings, although Dick was right, what he'd done there, and encouraged others to do, was sexual assault. At this point though, what he felt the worst about was making her a target in the first place. _She wasn't even your friend_ , Dick had said, and that right there was the crux of everything. The Veronica who'd been his friend would not have been the target of anything that happened to her that night; none of the 09ers would have dared to disrespect her like they did if she had still been part of his inner circle. It was his withdrawal of protection, and his active animosity, that drove that entire night. Her even being there at all was a response to him, trying to show the world that he and his gang of over-privileged assholes couldn't break her. She just hadn't been prepared yet for how dirty the fight would get. In the end, she'd been right, they couldn't break her. She may have lost the battle that night, in terrible, ugly ways, but she'd won the war.

Logan stood up, brushing sand off his pants before heading back to the parking lot. He was done dwelling on the past, for the night at least. He knew he would forgive Dick, just like Veronica had forgiven him. He wasn't ready to do it quite yet; he needed some space, for a while at least, but it probably wouldn't be that long, especially if Veronica kept pushing him to do so. Right now, he just wanted to go home and be with Veronica. If she could love him after everything they'd been through, he wasn't going to waste anymore time feeling bad about things he couldn't change.

* * *

"Well, well, looky what the cat dragged in," Veronica said with a smirk. She was stretched out on the couch with a book, looking much calmer than Logan had expected. He gave her an embarrassed smile.

"I'm sorry I was gone so long," he replied sheepishly. "I got a little sidetracked."

"Yeah, I guess. So sidetracked you forgot what you left to do."

He looked at her blankly, then smacked his hand against his head. "Oh shit. I forgot the dog."

"Uh huh," she said. "I know. But don't worry, she's fine." She stood up and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest. "How are you?"

He hugged her back, arms around her shoulders as he rested his cheek against the crown of her head. "I'm fine. I'm sorry, I know I was gone a long time. Were you worried?"

She looked up at him with a teasing smile, her sharp chin digging into his chest. "Did you want me to be?"

He grinned down at her. "Answering a question with a question, Mars? What sort of trickery is this?"

"Ahh, no trickery, just avoidance. Something you're pretty familiar with yourself." She stretched up and brushed her lips against his. "I wouldn't say worried, exactly. I was a little nervous when you left, yes."

"That was apparent."

"Oh really. And still you went without me." She backed away from him, catching his hand and pulling him after her back to the couch. "That just seems mean."

"I needed to see Dick without you fluttering around trying to fix everything." He dropped onto the couch and pulled her into his lap but she squirmed around and planted her hand flat against his chest.

"Fluttering around?" she asked indignantly. "When have I ever fluttered?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant to say you'd have stomped around trying to bend us to your will."

"That's better," she said with a satisfied nod, before twisting to settle against him. "So, the preliminary report suggests things didn't go that well."

"Is that so? Dick's already reported in, has he? What did he tell you?"

"Umm...well...I'm aware there was some limited punching."

"He wouldn't fight back," Logan said, irritated again. "He never even put up his guard. I couldn't keep hitting him like that."

"I'm glad," Veronica said. "That's not who you are. Especially now." She traced her fingers down his chest. "Dick's kinda wishing he would have at least covered his face though. Cole came home before he cleaned up and got really upset."

"Oh." Logan thought about how Dick had looked before he walked out on him, blood dripping off his face. "That hadn't occurred to me. He looked pretty messy."

"Yeah. You're not Cole's favorite person right now."

Logan dropped his head against the upper edge of the couch back. "Oh man, this sucks."

"Dick told him you had a legitimate reason for hitting him, that he deserved it, but—"

"But I was upset about that woman stabbing Aaron at that Christmas party and my dad was an abusive monster. Dick's a good dad so of course his kid's not gonna be happy about someone beating him up, even if it's deserved." He straightened up and looked at her ruefully. "I did not think this through."

"It'll work out. They're gonna keep Pony tonight and I'll go get her tomorrow." Veronica rubbed his arm soothingly. "Don't worry; it'll blow over."

"As I recall, I'm the one with an axe to grind. When I'm ready to deal with Dick again, I'll go back over there. I'm not being kept away by a fourteen year old."

She sighed and frowned at him. "Make up your mind, Logan. One minute you're sorry you did something that upset the kid, the next you're declaring that what he wants doesn't matter."

Logan growled in frustration, running his hands up through his hair. "I don't know what I want. I'm having a hard enough time dealing with Dick, let alone worrying about what Cole thinks about me."

"Okay, I'm going to deal with the Casablancas boys for now. You work through the...stuff you just learned about Dick. Dick's going to give you the space you need while you process." She kissed his forehead. "If I can make a request though...please don't get stuck too far in your own head. The actual behaviors you're so angry about were a long time ago and the people involved would not do them again. It's not only Dick I'm talking about, it's you too. And at a certain level, it's even me. If we all had it to do over, we'd all make different choices. I really believe that. So even while you're mad about what did happen, I hope you can remember that none of us would make the same choices again. Okay?"

"Yes, okay, I understand what you're saying. I'll do my best not to wallow around in this for too long."

She smiled and kissed his forehead again. "That's all I'm asking for."

* * *

Logan reported back for his regular shore duty early the next morning and Veronica headed into the office at the same time. She had a report to finish and she wanted to get over to Dick's pretty early to get the dog and see how Cole and Dick were doing in the aftermath of the confrontation the day before. It was around 10:30 AM when she had the report done and sent to the client and her billing information entered in the accounts receivable program. With her desk packed up, she headed to the lobby.

"Okay, folks, I'm going over to Dick's. I probably won't be back; I've gotta try and pick up Mrs. Ornaski's husband as he leaves work tonight and see if he's really meeting a business colleague for dinner."

"How's he doing?" Mac asked quietly. They were trying not to make a big deal about Logan and Dick's falling out in front of Keith. Veronica was concerned that that would lead to a lot of questions she didn't want to answer for her dad.

"Umm, well, okay, I guess," Veronica answered, also in a soft tone. "Logan went over yesterday and there were a few punches. I need to get the dog but I want to check how they're doing too."

"So, do you mind if I tag along?" Mac asked. "I haven't gotten over to the house for a few days and I don't want Dick thinking I'm avoiding him."

"Sure, I don't see why not. Maybe we'll grab some lunch to take over there?"

"That sounds good." Mac turned and walked toward Keith's office, pausing in the doorway. "Hey Keith, I'm gonna take a ride with Veronica and get some lunch. Are you covered here?"

Keith's response carried out to Veronica in the lobby. "Sure, no problem. You girls have fun."

Half an hour later, Veronica pulled into Dick's driveway, Mac in the passenger seat holding bags of sandwiches and chips. She'd filled Mac in on what had happened the night before with Logan and Dick, and later with Cole, so Mac wouldn't be caught off guard by Dick's appearance and Cole's bad mood.

"It's gonna be so awkward until Logan's ready to deal with Dick," Mac said. "I hope things get back to normal soon."

"I don't know," Veronica said. "I think it'll be a little while before normal is actually a thing."

"Maybe normal wasn't the right word," Mac said as she got out of the car. "I guess I'm just looking for less conflict."

"Yeah, that doesn't sound bad," Veronica replied, following Mac up to the porch. "But still, I think it's gonna take a little while." She rapped on the door, then opened the door to let Mac inside. "Hey Dick! Ya decent?"

Veronica followed Mac into the great room but there was no one there.

"Maybe they're down at the beach?" Mac suggested.

"Maybe," Veronica responded, just before Dick's voice boomed out behind them.

"What are you guys doing here?"

They both swiveled to face him. "We come bearing lunch," Mac said brightly, holding up the bags.

"And I came to get my wretched mutt out of your hair," Veronica added. She cringed a little at the sight of Dick's swollen cheek and busted lip.

"Well, that was very nice of both of you. You didn't have to bring lunch but I appreciate it." He gestured toward the table. "Wanna sit?"

"Sure. We've got a sandwich here for Cole too," Mac said.

"He's not here. First day of summer and he took off a while ago to hang at the skateboarding park with Trevor. I told him he needed to check in every couple of hours and be back here by 4:00 PM." Dick went into the kitchen and started pulling plates out of the cupboard.

"He doesn't have Pony with him, does he?" Veronica asked, helping Mac unload lunch from the bags.

"Nah, she's out on the back deck. She was wet and he left her out there to dry off when he came in from their morning run. She's probably snoozing in the sun." Dick grabbed three sodas from the fridge, then walked to the table and sat down. "A dog's life is pretty sweet. I mean, honestly, your average 09er kid has about the same amount of responsibility, but Pony's got the advantage in not having to deal with your average 09er parent."

Veronica laughed. "So Logan's not the average 09er dog parent?"

"Nah, he makes her behave and stuff."

"Not a lot of that in the 09 zip," Mac said and Dick nodded.

"That's what I'm talking about." They fell silent for a few minutes while they enjoyed their sandwiches, then Dick spoke again. "Umm, so you know, if she smells a little off, we tried to get her clean; she's had like three baths in the last couple of days."

"Did she get in something?" Veronica asked, her nose wrinkling. She remembered how Backup had loved to roll in gross stuff on the beach.

"Did she ever. There's a dead harbor seal further down the beach and she's rolled in it twice. County Animal Control is supposed to deal with that but I've called a couple of times and as of this morning, Cole said it was still there."

"Ohh, that's so sad. I love harbor seals," Mac said, frowning. "They're so cute."

"Well, unfortunately, this one's not anymore," Dick said, grimacing. "What it is, is super smelly. And Veronica's dog loves to roll around in it."

"Most dogs love to roll in smelly stuff," Veronica said. "Backup had a particular affinity for dead seagulls. It was gross."

"Yuck." Mac shuddered. "Well, if she smells too bad, I'm not getting in the car with you guys. Dick's driving me home." They all laughed.

"Happy to take you wherever you want to go, Mackie."

Forty five minutes later, the food was gone and the dishes cleaned up. "Okay, I'm gonna go see exactly how stinky this dog is," Veronica told Mac. "I won't hold a grudge if you decide to abandon me because of the stench."

"That's good. You probably would hold a grudge if I threw up in your car because of the smell."

Veronica stepped out of the French doors onto the back deck. "Hey, Pony girl, ready to go home?" She looked around the deck, even peering behind Dick's fancy barbecue but the dog was nowhere to be seen. "Pony!" she called, louder this time, so her voice would carry through the yard, but the scrambling noise of the dog extracting herself from whatever corner she'd gotten into never came. "Pony!" She shouted this time but there was still no response. She walked down the steps into the yard and noticed that the back gate was ajar. "Oh shit."

She poked her head back through the French doors. "It looks like the back gate didn't latch right when they came back from the beach this morning. It's open and Pony's gone."

Dick groaned. "She's probably down the beach rolling in seal. Bath number four, coming up." He grabbed the leash and headed toward Veronica. "Come on, I'll help you look."

"I'm staying here," Mac called. "I'm sure you guys can deal with this." She settled on the couch. "Good luck."

"I had no idea you were such a wimp," Veronica said and Mac stuck her tongue out at her.

"Leave Mackie alone. Not everyone's equipped to deal with that kind of grossness." Dick waved at Mac and stepped out onto the deck with Veronica. "Come on, it's south down the beach."

They trekked down the beach a ways before the carcass came into view. The surf was coming up close to where the body lay. "She's not there," Veronica said, starting to worry. "Where else could she be?"

Dick continued to walk toward the dead seal. "I don't know. I'm sure she's this direction though. Maybe she found something else to get into. Tide's almost full, maybe something else washed in that smells worse." They stopped several feet away from the carcass, looking all around them, shouting for the dog.

"She can't have gone much further," Veronica pointed out. "The tide's all the way up to that rock wall. Either she went the other way or she got up to the road." She looked up to where the PCH ran up next to the beach. The terrain above the beach was rocky and steep. "She probably wouldn't have gone up there, right? It's too steep for her to bother. I hope at least." She wrung her hands, then dug in her pocket for her phone. "She won't last if she gets up on the highway. I'll call Mac and have her drive up around there."

Dick looked ill. "I think you're right, she wouldn't bother struggling up through there. As long as she didn't get around the wall; there's easier access to the PCH beyond it. The wall is actually built around an effluent pipe for water draining under the PCH. Call Mac and send her around, just in case." He pulled out his own phone while Veronica called Mac and gave her the update.

"Okay, good, you've got my keys. Call me if you see her. Thanks, Mac." Veronica hung up and tucked her phone in her pocket, now able to hear the last of Dick's conversation.

"Okay, head down from where you are in case she did head north up the beach. Call if you find her." Dick glanced at Veronica and smiled reassuringly. "Yeah, I'm sure she's fine. I know you didn't mean to leave the gate open. Don't worry; we're gonna find her. I love you too. Bye." Dick ended the call. "The skate park is north on the beach. The boys are going to head down the beach toward the house to see if she went that way. He's so sorry, Ronnie. He's usually really good about making sure the gate latches so she doesn't take off." He pivoted around, looking in all directions as he shouted Pony's name again.

"It was an accident. Like you told him, we're gonna find her."

"I hope so. Let's see how deep the water is by the end of the wall, see if we can get around." They hurried to the end of the rock wall. It was nearly five feet high; Veronica could barely see over it.

"She probably couldn't get over that."

"No, I don't think she'd bother with that either. If she got around, it would likely have been before the tide made it all the way up to the pipe." Where the wall dipped down and ended, the ebb and flow of the incoming tide would cover about a third of the way up the wall before receding again. Dick started down into the water and Veronica followed.

"No, you, shortie, you stay up above the water. I want to see in the pipe."

Veronica's eyes widened in horror. "You don't think she's in there, do you?"

"I don't know," he called back as he waded into the surf. "Further in could be dry. See how the wall arches up away from the water? Since there's no water coming the other way right now, from the other side of the road, it's possible to be far enough up that the water might not be as deep." Another wave came in as he reached the end of the wall and he braced his hands against the top, then crouched and peered inside.

Veronica stood back from the channel of rushing water that reached up above Dick's knees as he looked into the large pipe. She wasn't as sure about his theory about the water. On the beach, the water wouldn't go as high because it would dissipate across the sand. Inside a pipe, the water couldn't get away so it would push up higher in its limited space.

"I don't see—" He stopped as the surf rushed back out again. "Hang on." He ducked further down and disappeared into the pipe.

"Dick!" Veronica yelled but he didn't respond. She heard him yell something, and then another wave came in. "Dick!" she yelled again as about half of the mouth of the pipe disappeared below the water this time. "Dick, shit," she mumbled fearfully.

As the water receded this time, Dick came with it, completely soaked and carrying Pony. The dog appeared to be still in his arms and Veronica shrieked and dashed toward them.

"Stay up there!" Dick shouted at her as he struggled through the swirling water and sand. He stumbled and Veronica started toward him again, trying to stay out of the water as she grabbed for his arm to help pull them up out of the water.

"Dick, is she..."

"She's breathing," he answered as he knelt in the dry sand and laid the dog down. She didn't move. "The pipe is full of wood and rocks; her collar or something was caught on some driftwood. Luckily, she was high enough that she wasn't completely underwater but I think she got pretty beat up from the surf." He ran his hands gently over the still form. "Yeah, she's all cut up and—" He glanced up at Veronica with a grimace "—I think this leg's either broken or dislocated. It doesn't look right."

"Why isn't she reacting?" Veronica dropped down into the sand next to them. "I'd think she'd be whimpering at least."

"Maybe something hit her in the head and she got knocked out? I don't know if that even happens to dogs; I've never had one. I just think we need to get her to a vet, quick." He moved into a crouched position and then carefully lifted the dog so the leg he was worried about wasn't jarred. "Come on, let's go. Call Mac and tell her to wait at the end of the street. We'll go through the yard at the end and meet her there; it'll be faster than walking all the way down to my house."

As they hurried back up the beach, Veronica called Mac and explained what was happening and what they needed. Mac agreed and they hung up.

"Could you call Cole now?" Dick asked. "My phone is probably toast after that bath." Pony started to whine and he looked back down at her. "Hey, little girl, good to see your eyeballs open. What kinda crazy things you been up to today?" Pony whimpered and he continued to croon to her. "Gotta learn to stay out of places like that. But I guess it's natural for you, taking after your mom it looks like." Veronica had just pressed Cole's number in her phone and she snorted at Dick's words just as Cole answered.

"Hey, Cole, where are you?"

 _"We're about halfway between the skate park and home. We haven't seen Pony at all. I am so sorry about the gate, Veronica—"_

"No, hang on, we've got her but she's hurt. We're gonna cut through this first yard to get up to the street to meet Mac with the car to go to the vet." They reached the first house and they started to work their way around it toward the street.

 _"What's wrong with her?"_

"Not totally sure yet. She got stuck in a pipe down the beach. Her collar was hung up on some wood inside the pipe." They reached the street right as Mac screeched up beside them in Veronica's SUV. "Look, Cole, we've gotta go, we just met Mac."

"Tell him to go home, I'll meet him there shortly and we'll follow you to the vet." Veronica relayed the message and hung up as Dick laid Pony gently in the back seat. She climbed up next to the dog, who was now trembling and crying. Veronica stroked her head gently and made soothing noises.

"Mac, call Cole's phone once you know where you're taking her; I'll put on some dry clothes and we'll be along pretty soon." Dick looked back at Veronica. "She's gonna be fine, don't worry."

Veronica nodded, clinging to his reassurance. "Thanks, Dick."


	17. Chapter 17

_Just a reminder of how grateful I am for KMD0107, who does a quick turn-around beta for me at the last minute, every single week. I could not get along without her. Well, I probably could, but I'm really glad I don't have to and, believe me, even if you don't realize it, you guys are too._

* * *

Veronica paced in circles around the tiny waiting area. The vet had let her go into the exam room while they examined Pony but they'd taken her in for x-rays and Veronica had been banished back to the waiting room where she'd left Mac. She'd left a voice mail for Logan but she knew he wouldn't pick up the message until he was released for the day. Mac had called Keith to let him know what was going on and he'd originally offered to come down to be with them while they waited for answers, but Veronica had asked him to cover her surveillance instead.

Dick and Cole had arrived while she was in the exam room with the dog and when she came back into the waiting room, they had jumped up, clamoring for news. She really didn't have any and now Dick was slumped in a chair next to Mac and Cole was pacing like Veronica, only he was doing it on the covered walkway that ran in front of the building. The waiting room had been too small for his longer legs.

"Ms. Mars?"

She pivoted toward the voice and found the vet standing at the front desk holding a clip board. "Dr. Beck? How's Pony?"

"She's had a hard day but with a little time, she should be fine. She has both radial and ulnar fractures in that left front leg. They are simple fractures, and closed, so that's a good thing."

"What does that mean?" Veronica asked.

"A simple fracture means there was only a single break in each bone, rather than breaks in multiple places. Closed means the broken edges of the bone didn't displace to the point where they broke through the skin."

"Gross," said Dick, from directly behind Veronica and she jumped in surprise, glancing over her shoulder. He and Mac were standing close behind her, and Cole was on his way through the front door, apparently having seen the others speaking to the doctor.

"Is she okay?" Cole asked, a frantic tone in his voice. Dick reached out for him and put his arm around his son's shoulders. "She's gonna be okay, right?"

"Her leg's broken," Veronica said, then directed her attention back to the doctor. "What else? Is there anything else?"

"She's got multiple contusions and lacerations, but none significant enough to require stitches." The doctor consulted her clipboard. "She's got a lump behind her...right ear and she was disoriented when she first came in which suggests a head trauma."

"I think she was unconscious when I pulled her out of the pipe," Dick offered. "I didn't even know that could happen."

"It takes a lot to knock out a dog; they've got harder heads than people. There was no fracture though. No other fractures were visualized anywhere. We did a chest x-ray before we put her under and that was clear."

"Put her under?" Cole asked. "Why would you do that?"

"We needed her to be asleep while we did the other x-rays," Dr. Beck explained. "We have to move the affected limb around and it would be too painful to get her to cooperate if she were awake. She would probably bite everyone she could reach if she wasn't asleep. Plus, she needed to be out when we casted her."

"She's got a cast?" Dick asked, grinning. "I saved her. I get to sign it first." Mac punched him in the arm as she snorted.

The vet chuckled and shook her head. "You all can work that part out. We're going to need to keep her overnight while she sleeps off the anesthesia but as long as everything goes as expected, she should be able to go home in the morning."

"Can we go in and see her?" Cole asked. The vet looked at Veronica.

"That's okay with us, if Ms. Mars is agreeable."

"Sure," she replied. "Can we both go?"

"Yes, come with me." She headed back toward the exam rooms and Veronica and Cole followed. She led them further down the hallway, entering a kennel area. "She's in a recovery crate. She needs to stay contained when she starts to wake up. We don't want her trying to walk around on that leg yet." She stopped and opened a wire door. "Here she is. Don't try to wake her up; she'll come around when the anesthesia clears her system."

The vet stepped away and Veronica and Cole moved forward. "Oh no," Cole said in a mournful voice. He reached up toward Pony, then pulled his hand away and took a step back. "Look at her." He gestured at the dog's front legs. The left leg was casted and the right was bound with a bandage.

"What happened to her right leg?" Veronica asked the vet.

"Nothing, that's where we placed the IV while she was under the anesthesia. We shave them also so when the bandage comes off, she's going to have a shaved stripe. It's nothing to worry about." Dr. Beck patted Cole's shoulder reassuringly and he edged forward again.

"Okay," he said, gently running his fingers along Pony's back leg. She didn't move and he took a step closer, leaning his head down toward Pony's.

"I am so sorry," he said. "I didn't mean for this to happen. So, so sorry."

Veronica stepped closer to him and was raising her hand to rub his back when Pony growled, a low, fierce sound that she almost never made. Cole straightened quickly and stepped back again, causing Veronica's hand to bump against his back.

"What the..." He looked around urgently, catching Veronica's eye, then looking the other way to the vet. "She's sleeping. Why is she growling?"

"She's not really sleeping; she's sedated. We don't know exactly what stimuli are getting through to her. You might have just bumped the crate a tiny bit and she felt it. Any jostling might hurt and that could be why she growled." Dr. Beck looked more closely at Pony and frowned. "We should probably let her rest. You can come back after 10:00 AM tomorrow and take her home, okay?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Veronica said. "Come on, Cole, let's get going." She turned to the vet and extended her hand. "Thank you so much for everything, Dr. Beck. I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

Logan burst through the front door of the apartment and headed for the front room. Veronica looked up from where she was curled up on the couch. "What happened to Pony?"

Veronica patted the cushion next to her. "She's gonna be fine. Come sit."

A wave of relief rolled over Logan and he collapsed on the couch beside her. "That's good to hear. I saw your text first, that you were back home, and then I listened to your voice mail. Is she here?" He glanced around the room. The dog bed was empty but sometimes she'd crash in other places around the apartment.

"No, the vet said she needed to stay until she was out from under the anesthesia and would eat. I'll go over around 10:00 AM tomorrow to get her. I knew the Navy would probably frown on you taking the day off for your dog's medical emergency so I made arrangements with Dick for him to come help me when I get her home. She's a bit large for me to haul up the stairs."

"Dick's helping you?" Logan said with a frown.

"Well, more likely Cole. Even when he's mad at you, he feels so bad about what happened, he's probably going to be here as often as possible until she's really on her feet again." She smiled at Logan. "He'll tolerate the mean dad he doesn't like right now to spend time with his girl. You might know how that feels."

"I like your dad just fine. As I recall, you were the one always trying to keep us apart. So, tell me what happened. Why does Cole feel bad?"

Logan listened as Veronica gave him the rundown of what had happened earlier in the day and the outline of Pony's injuries. Her description of the rescue operation made his blood run cold. If she'd been alone, she would have waded into that water and tried to save the dog herself. He was familiar with the pipes to carry water under the highway and he knew how the ocean rising up to it could behave, with the tide rushing both in and out in a strong current. The sand would turn to soup and what should have been only a foot or so could become two or more with no warning and the water going both directions could knock you off your feet and tug you out to the ocean. Veronica's explanation made it clear she was grateful to Dick for saving the dog. Logan appreciated that also but it was Dick keeping Veronica from doing anything too risky that really resonated with him.

"So, we'll need to keep her from running around on the cast as much as possible and keep her away from the water," Veronica explained. "All the lacerations should just heal up in a few days. I think they'll prescribe some antibiotics so nothing gets infected."

"So, the gate got left open and she took off down the beach for a little _eau de seal_ , huh?"

"Yes, but it was an accident. Cole feels terrible. I hope you're not going to blame him. It'll just be because you're mad at Dick. You know he would never do anything to hurt Pony."

Logan repressed a smile at protective mama bear Veronica defending Cole. He wasn't mad, not at Cole, and barely at Dick anymore. He actually was starting to understand why Veronica kept going on about warming up to Dick because she thought he'd kept Logan alive during the years of her absence. He could personally relate after the events of the day.

"I'm not blaming anyone. I just want to be sure it doesn't happen again."

"I think we can be pretty sure of that. He was so broken up when we went in to see her. I felt sorry for him." She leaned into him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Thanks for not holding this against him."

"That's not a problem. Remember, she would have been safe and sound at our apartment if I hadn't forgotten about her in my fit of pique yesterday. Cole has some culpability but he's not alone in that, and what good does it do to blame anyone? She's going to be okay and that's what matters." He brushed a kiss over her hair. "Cole may be mad at me, but I'm not mad at him, so you can stand down." He kissed her head again. "Seriously, if you ever decide to do something with that law degree, I'm thinking public defender."

She poked him in the side and he tickled her, starting a minor scuffle on the couch that ended with him flat on his back on the floor with Veronica stretched out over him.

"That's what you get for tickling me," she said, grinning down at him like somehow she'd gotten the better of him. He nodded at her.

"Yes, you certainly have taught me a lesson." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. "Anything else you wanna do to me while you've got me submissive to your every whim?" She raised her eyebrows.

"I'm pretty sure my whims involve you doing stuff to me."

Logan laughed suggestively. "Okay, I'm up for whatever."

* * *

Veronica's early morning phone call to the vet confirmed that Pony was up and lively and would be ready to come home when Veronica showed up to get her. She'd planned to go in about 10:00 AM and then call Dick to meet her at home before she left the vet's office. She was surprised when both Casablancases showed up at her door by 9:30 AM, all ready to take her to get the dog.

"You really didn't have to do this," Veronica said as she and Dick walked out to her car. She'd insisted that even if they were going to come with her to the appointment, she would still be the one driving. "It was going to be enough that you were helping me get her from the car into the apartment. There'll be people to help when we leave the office."

"No, it's fine. Cole's been worrying about her all night. It was just easier to come over here so he could see for himself that she's fine."

Proof of his words came from the bottom of the stairs. "Hurry up, you guys," Cole called up to them.

"Hold your horses," Veronica berated him. "We're old and slow." Cole laughed and disappeared, presumably heading to the car.

"How mad is Logan at him?" Dick asked quietly. Veronica looked at him and shook her head.

"He's not actually. He knows it was an accident." She chuckled. "He said that if he hadn't been throwing a fit and forgotten to bring her home on Sunday that she'd have been with us already so it's his fault as much as Cole's."

"Or mine," Dick admitted. "I never even checked on her after they came back from the beach. Cole came in, said she was wet and he was leaving her on the deck, then he left to meet Trevor and I never even thought about her out there."

"There was no reason for you to worry," Veronica said, patting his arm. "Shit happens. Luckily, we went looking and you found her and pulled her out of the pipe before the water got any higher. With her collar stuck on the drift wood, she couldn't get any further into the pipe, and she'd probably have drowned when the tide came in all the way."

"Yeah," Dick agreed with a shudder. They'd reached the car and Veronica didn't want to talk about the subject any longer in front of Cole. She raised her key fob and pressed the button to open all the doors.

Fifteen minutes later, they were all sitting again in the front lobby of Hillside Family Vet Clinic, while they waited for Dr. Beck to come out to talk to them.

"Good morning, Pony's family," the vet said as she stepped through the door separating the waiting area from the exam rooms. All three of them rose to meet her. "Mom, Dad, and brother?" she asked.

"More like Mom, uncle, and cousin," Dick answered. "Dad's a hard-working stiff who doesn't get any time off."

"Dick," Veronica said in an exasperated voice and Cole laughed.

"It's true," Dick muttered.

"Well, be that as it may...like I told you earlier this morning, Pony is doing well. She'll be fine going home today. I don't see any sign of infection developing at any of the laceration sites and she's already starting to get around on only three legs. Your biggest issue might be keeping her from trying to be too active. She needs to be as non-weight bearing as you can keep her on that casted leg."

Dick made a chortling sound and said, "Oh yeah, the cast," under his breath and Veronica elbowed him.

"And how about her head?" she asked. "She was out of it when we pulled her out of the pipe and you said probably head trauma. Is there anything to worry about there?"

"I don't think so. She's very lively. You know her personality better than we do so you'll have a better idea if she's 'off' at all but from what we've experienced this morning, she just seems like an active young dog." Dr. Beck smiled. "Emphasis on active. I wasn't kidding about the hardest thing likely being keeping her off the leg."

"That sounds right," Veronica said. "So, can we go back and see her?"

"My tech will be bringing her out as soon as we're done here. We've got several medications for her and we need to talk about their proper dispensation."

After a few minutes learning several ways to trick horse pills down a dog's throat, and getting a lesson on proper application of topical antibiotic cream, Veronica was ready to take her dog home. She and Dick went back to their seats while Cole started walking back and forth through the room.

"Here we go." A young man with a name tag that read Trey came into the waiting area pushing a cart with Pony sitting on it, securely tethered in place. She yipped as Veronica stood up. "Someone's very excited to go home." He ruffled the fur on her back. "I'll wheel her out to your car."

"Hey, girl, how you doing this morning?" Cole said as he approached the cart. Pony's head swiveled to him, as if she'd only noticed him, and she barked, sharply, and then started to growl. Cole had been reaching down to pet her but she snapped at his approaching hand and he pulled back, a look of surprise on his face. "Pony?" he asked tentatively. She continued to growl, low in her throat.

"What the hell," Dick said in a conversational voice. "That's new." Cole reached for Pony again and she lunged at him, as much as she could from her secured position. "Cole, step away from the cart," Dick said, sounding more concerned.

Cole backed away and Pony sat again, but she continued to growl as she watched him. Veronica slowly approached the cart, her hand outstretched.

"Hey, there, Pony girl, what's up with you this morning?" The dog's head swiveled toward her and she yipped again, her head bobbing. Veronica laid her hand on Pony's head and the dog wriggled with excitement, stretching around to lick Veronica's hand as she stroked her head. Dick came up next to Veronica and Pony stretched toward him, trying to greet him also.

"Maybe she was just startled," Veronica said, glancing over her shoulder at Dick, who was now running his hand down the dog's back. "Cole, try again." The boy took a step back toward the cart and Pony's head shot back to face him, growling again.

"What did you do to this dog, man?" the vet tech asked and Veronica looked at him sharply.

"He didn't do anything. This is probably what Dr. Beck was talking about with the head injury. She's confused."

"If you say so," Trey said. "If someone can get the door, please?"

"I'll do it," Dick said, waving Cole back from the door. "You stay put. We'll get her in the car and I'll sit in the back with her. You can get in the front once she's settled. Until she's clear again, we don't need to upset her unnecessarily." Veronica watched Cole's face, sad and confused, as he nodded his understanding and backed toward the front counter, staring after them as they walked toward Veronica's car.

* * *

The trip home was reasonably uneventful. Cole got into the car once Pony was safely secured in the cargo area and he was silent the entire trip. Veronica glanced over at him repeatedly as she drove back to the apartment. He sat slumped in the front seat, staring out the window.

"Don't worry," Veronica said to him quietly as they pulled up to the apartment. "I'm sure she'll get over whatever's got her acting like this."

He sighed. "I hope so." She parked the car and he was out of the car in a flash.

"I guess I'm lugging this beast up the stairs myself," Dick said. He looked down at Pony, poking her with a gentle finger that she immediately tried to lick. "You need to get it together, girly. This would be much easier on me if you'd let the kid carry you."

"This is so weird," Veronica said. "I hope whatever's going on in her head works itself out soon. Maybe we give her some space from him for a day or two and then you guys can come over and we'll start trying to integrate them back together. Maybe by then she'll be back to normal and this will have passed." They climbed out and met at the rear hatch so Dick could pull Pony out of the car.

"Thanks, Veronica."

She looked at him in surprise. "For what? You're the one doing me a favor. Another one, I might add."

"It would be easy to believe what that kid, the vet tech, did. That Cole did something to Pony to upset her...make her afraid of him. But you don't seem to think that at all."

She scoffed. "He wouldn't do anything to Pony. He adores her."

"Yeah, well, thanks anyway." He lifted the dog out of the hatch. "All right, troublesome mutt. Let's get you home."

* * *

Logan sat on the floor, Pony's head in his lap, scratching gently behind her ears. "It'd be a lot easier if you could talk," he mumbled down at her.

Veronica had slammed the bedroom door behind her when she'd stomped away earlier. He wasn't sure yet if he was going to spend the night out in the living room with the dog or try to slip into bed next to Veronica once she'd fallen asleep.

He'd come home from work, anxious to get his first look at Pony since 'the incident'. He'd never had a dog before, never really had a pet before, although he vividly remembered bringing the class hamster home for the weekend back in second grade. That had been exciting, until he tried to go to bed, and the tiny rodent decided that it wanted to use the squeaky exercise wheel all night long. He'd finally had to move the cage out of his room in order to get any sleep and he hadn't asked to bring the animal home again. He'd been a little envious of Veronica when she got Backup, not long before Lilly had died, but he'd known that his life was not conducive to a pet like that. The dog had always been friendly with him, more so than with Duncan who never seemed to notice his existence. After one particularly bad night with Aaron, he fantasized about Backup defending him from his father, but when he'd realized that all that would likely have happened was the dog getting hauled away and put down, he'd let that idea go.

With Pony, she'd been a symbol for him of permanence between he and Veronica. Sure, she could leave him anytime and probably take the dog with her, but there was something about the decision to have this living thing between them that resonated with him. Almost like a child, but not quite. Any teasing about them as her parents, especially Veronica referring to him as 'daddy', gave him a little thrill that embarrassed him. He knew having a dog together wasn't the same as them having a baby, but it felt...significant.

Veronica had filled him in on the vet's aftercare instructions and she'd been more than happy to let him stick Pony's pills in the glob of peanut butter and feed it to her. After dinner, he was sitting on the floor with the dog partially in his lap, leaning against the couch where Veronica sat with her legs up, reading. He'd been petting the dog and Veronica had her free hand on his shoulder, rubbing her thumb against the back of his neck. It had been a peaceful, serene moment, the kind that made him relish his life, when she suddenly remembered something she hadn't shared yet.

"Oh, we need to keep an eye out for unusual behavior in her. There's still the chance that she hit her head on something while she was in the pipe. Dr. Beck didn't think we needed to worry about anything but...she had a kinda weird reaction to Cole, so we should just be aware."

Logan had looked over his shoulder at her. She seemed very nonchalant, which always got his Veronica-radar going.

"What kind of reaction?"

He'd listened as she explained what had happened when they picked Pony up in the morning. That she'd been fine with everyone, except Cole. That she'd growled and actually tried to bite the boy.

"Dick and I decided to give Pony a few days to hopefully get over whatever's going on with her. Head trauma can make people aggressive when they didn't use to be. Hopefully this is just temporary."

"Veronica, she's not aggressive now. Not with you, not with me, apparently not with Dick or any of the vet staff. This seems more like it's about Cole, not a head trauma." He'd twisted to look over his shoulder at her. "Does it not strike you that maybe he did something that she's reacting to?"

"Cole wouldn't hurt Pony," she said, her tone making it clear that this was not an argument she would consider.

"You know he's mad at me about hitting Dick. Maybe he did something to get at me, not really thinking it through, and it went bad and caused this. All she knows is that she was with him and she got hurt so now she equates that trauma with him. He might not have intended what ended up happening to her; that's why he's so upset about how everything turned out."

Veronica glared at him. "You're saying he purposely caught her collar on the wood in that pipe to get at you?"

"No, not necessarily." He slid out from under the dog and pushed up to sit next to Veronica on the couch. She pulled her legs in under her and pressed back into the corner, away from him. "Look, I don't know what happened. But it's weird to me that you're ignoring how Pony is reacting to him. Doesn't that seem suspicious to you?"

"She hit her head."

"Then she'd be growling and snapping at everyone. She's not. Something happened with Cole." He pressed his fingers between his eyebrows and over his forehead, trying to smooth the perplexed wrinkle away before she got more offended. _Too late._

"You're just mad at Dick so you're blaming Cole for something he'd never do."

"That is not true. I'm barely mad at Dick any more, because you've been insisting that you're fine with him, and because he kept both you and Pony safe yesterday. As far as I'm concerned, I owe him right now. So I'm absolutely not blaming Cole because of Dick. I'm suggesting that Cole might have done something that went too far, and our dog is trying to tell us that, and you're deliberately ignoring her."

That was the wrong thing to say. Her face smoothed of all emotion and her eyes turned cold. "You complain about me jumping to conclusions—"

"I do not."

"—and when I make it a point to not rush to judgment, you tell me I'm ignoring the dog's cry for help." She sneered as she said the last part of that sentence, in a sarcastic tone of voice. "There is nothing in any of Cole's prior behavior that would suggest he would deliberately hurt an animal he loves over a grudge."

Again, Logan's next words escaped him before he could stop them. "Nothing in Cassidy's prior behavior suggested he was a rapist and a murderer. You of all people should know that not everyone is what they seem to be."

She sucked in a harsh gasp of air and he knew he'd just made a crucial error. She pushed herself out of the corner of the couch and stood up.

"You're right. I certainly do know from personal experience that people who act like you're their friend can turn around and treat you like shit with little to no provocation. You think you mean one thing to them, and then they show how they really feel."

"Veronica, I—"

"But without some actual proof, I'm not ready to condemn a fourteen year old boy as a potential animal torturer. I seem to recall a conversation a few months ago, when I was worried that Cole might actually be Cassidy's kid, and that he could take after him, and you told me in no uncertain terms that I should not let my feelings for Cassidy color my feelings for Cole. I would suggest you take your own advice and stop letting your feelings for Dick change how you felt about Cole. It's not fair." She turned and walked out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Logan called after her, panic overtaking him. She paused in the doorway and looked back at him.

"I'm going to bed. Don't presume that just because you're being a jackass that I'm going to run away."

It had been about half an hour since he'd heard their bedroom door slam. He'd slid back down onto the floor once she left, and the dog had scooted up to him again, laying her head on his leg. He stroked her head and down her side while he thought about the first actual fight they'd had in months.

He was pretty sure he wasn't letting his anger at Dick spill over onto Cole. He wasn't even suggesting that Cole had purposely tried to injure Pony, just that maybe he'd played a prank to get at Logan and things went wrong. He agreed that Cole did love Pony, and wouldn't want to purposely hurt her, or Veronica either, but maybe he hadn't realized that the pipe could flood when the tide came in, and his intent had simply been to scare Logan with a missing dog for a while before Cole, or maybe even Dick, found Pony and 'rescued' her. That was feasible; setting up a scenario that could make Dick look good in Logan's eyes. If that had been the intent, it had definitely worked.

The quiet in the room was broken abruptly by a snore from Pony. Logan smiled down at her and ruffled her fur. "This would sure be easier if you could talk," he repeated, more to himself than anything else. He smoothed his hand over her forehead. "Is something weird going on in there?" he thought out loud as he rubbed between her eyes. She made a grumbly sound that made him smile again.

"You sleep at the same volume as your mother." He stroked her fur once more, then slid out from under her, supporting her head as he rested it gently on the floor. He couldn't cower out here all night. He needed to go in and smooth things over with Veronica.

"Wish me luck, Pone," he said under his breath as he clambered to his feet and headed for the bedroom.

Veronica was curled in a ball, facing away from the door when he opened it cautiously. He tiptoed into the bathroom and got ready for bed, then slipped under the covers and moved up close behind her, curling around her body and resting his hand on her hip. He could tell from her breathing that she was still awake.

"I'm sorry that we fought," he whispered into her hair.

She sighed and uncurled slightly, leaning back against him. "Me too."

"I still think we need to consider what's going on with the dog, but I'm not out to get Cole, I swear."

"I believe you." She turned to face him, pressing against him with her arms around his waist, and he felt the fear-filled tightness in his chest start to release as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "I've leapt to a few conclusions in my life, and turned out to be wrong. You might remember one of the more significant ones; it resulted in a gang trying to stomp you to death on a bridge you'd gone to jump off of. You might also recall that that night led to you being accused of murder, twice."

He huffed out a short laugh and kissed her forehead. "Yes, I _might_ remember that. Some parts are a little sketchy. You know, because of the head trauma."

She groaned at his bad joke. "If that's true, it's more likely because of the alcohol. Anyway, I should have known that you couldn't have hurt Lilly. Actually, I really did know it; I went to the Kanes' that night to look for your note, trying to get proof that it wasn't you. But I was careless about my suspicion and that set Weevil on your trail, and I wasn't even paying enough attention to realize what was going to happen. I've accused all kinds of wrong people in my life, and most of the time, I don't care that much, but I am not going to risk someone important to me again by being a loose cannon. Do you understand?"

Logan nodded. "Mmmhmm, I do. And I can respect that. Just don't completely ignore what's in front of you while you're trying to not jump to conclusions."

Her eyebrows rose and he wondered if he'd pushed too hard again. "I'll try not be a complete idiot," she said coldly.

"That is NOT what I meant and you know it." He hunched down and kissed her nose. "Can we drop this subject? Before I accidentally stick my foot in my mouth again and you kick me with it?"

"That doesn't even make sense."

"Probably not...making you mad is exhausting. I have no idea what I'm even saying at this point." He combed his fingers through her hair and pulled her head against his chest. "Go to sleep, Veronica. I love you."

"Sounds like you know what you're saying." She stretched up for a kiss, then settled into his arms. "I love you too."


	18. Chapter 18

It was still dark outside when Logan got up and ready to leave for the day. He wasn't due to report for several hours but he'd had an idea during his restless night's sleep and he wanted to act on it before going to work. He showered and dressed, not in his summer whites, which were carefully packed in a duffle bag to be changed into later, but in blue jeans and a long sleeved tee shirt. He stopped to drop a kiss on Veronica's bare shoulder as she lay sprawled on her stomach across their bed.

"Mmmmm, izzo early," she mumbled into her pillow. "Why you up?"

"Going to work, sweet cheeks," he said, kissing across to the other shoulder, hoping she wouldn't notice he wasn't really dressed for work. "The alarm's set for you. Just go back to sleep." She mumbled again, unintelligibly, and then lifted her head enough that her voice escaped the bedding.

"Love you."

"I love you, too. Have a good day." Her head dropped back onto the pillow; he kissed the back of it and made his escape.

A quick drive found him in the small parking lot above the beach, a little south of the scene of Pony's misadventure. The area north of the pipe was accessible from the beach houses in Dick's neighborhood; this portion of the beach was open to the public. The beach behind the houses wasn't private by any means; anyone could park in this lot and walk as far north as they wanted, or at least they could until the beach disappeared into rocky cliffs.

He was in luck and the tide was at its low point. Logan walked quickly to the wall of rocks that hid the pipe and moved down to its opening. He peered inside and was surprised to find it crowded with rocks and wood. The County's Public Works Department usually kept these pipes clear so if there was water draining from the other side of the highway, it could flow freely and not cause damage to the road. That was an ongoing job though since debris could get carried into the pipes on either side, especially after a storm. In late spring, however, this wasn't usually a big issue, and Logan couldn't remember any significant weather in the last month that would have resulted in this much of a blockage. He suspected that this was the work of kids, who would sometimes drag junk they found on the beach, or on the other end of the pipe, out of the forest, into the pipes, just because.

Logan ducked inside the pipe, wanting to try to get a picture in his head of what had happened. The beginning was easy to imagine: the gate wasn't completely closed and Pony took advantage of it to go back down to roll around in the seal carcass some more. Gross, but understandable for a dog. The pipe was fairly near where the seal had been from what he understood. There was no sign of the seal's remains today so he couldn't be certain of that but that was how Veronica had described the scene. Pony would have eventually gotten tired of just rolling around and would have gone sniffing around for something else interesting. She probably saw the pipe and went inside. Logan was sure that with the tide as high as it was when Dick and Veronica got there, she had to have gone in a while earlier and gotten stuck; he could not imagine her braving the rushing waters just to go inside the pipe. She always had fun jumping over the light surf as it rolled in but she was skittish about entering the water on beaches where the waves were stronger.

As Logan looked around, he noticed that most of the driftwood was light enough that if the dog had gotten hung up on it, she would probably just have tugged it out of the pipe with her. There was only one piece that was large enough that he couldn't see her moving it. It appeared to be the bottom portion of a small tree trunk, the mostly smooth upper portion facing the outside of the pipe but a jumble of roots facing the inside. It was large enough that it blocked the lower half of the pipe almost entirely, enough that he was surprised that Pony had been able to go beyond it. There was nothing jutting out of the outside portion to get stuck on and he thought she might have been able to jump over the log, but then, once she was beyond it, she either got hung up on something or simply couldn't get back across to get out. If she wasn't caught, though, she could have just moved up the pipe when the water started coming in, but if she'd struck her head on something like Veronica kept insisting, maybe she'd been out of it and couldn't get away from the incoming tide.

He leaned over the log to get a better look at the roots and it was clear that on this side, there were plenty of branches that could have caught her collar. A splash of color caught his eye and he stretched through the tangle of wood to pull a sodden mass of green out from where it had been wedged by the tide between the branches. He flopped it out onto the log and realized it was a hoodie, arms knotted together, and shredded through the back. He turned it over and could see 'NEPT' and 'GH" imprinted across the back, the shredded section had presumably borne the missing 'UNE HI'. He flipped the ruined garment again, looking for any other identifying marks. On the tag on the side seam, Logan found 'CTC' printed in black ink.

"I knew it," he muttered, gathering up the remains of the hoodie and heading back up to his car. His initial plan was to head straight for Dick's to call Cole out on his actions. Like he'd told Veronica the night before, he was willing to accept a scenario where Cole set this up as a prank to get at Logan, and everything went terribly wrong. Accept it, but not necessarily believe it. Veronica might be willing to give Cole the benefit of the doubt but Logan was reserving judgment, and the kid needed to understand that he hadn't gotten away with anything. That should help discourage him from trying anything hare-brained again. Not that he was getting another chance with Logan's dog. Either Pony would be staying with Keith when they went out of town or they were going to have to start choosing more pet-friendly vacation destinations.

As Logan pulled up to the exit to the parking lot, he hit his blinker to turn left and go to Dick's. However, he noticed the time and shook his head. There was no way he had time to make sure Cole understood the enormity of his actions and still report to work as scheduled. He looked left, up the PCH, toward where the entrance to Dick's neighborhood could be found, then he looked right, toward the exit for the 5 and the base. He sighed heavily as naval discipline took the day and he made the right turn. He knew he was going to be distracted all day and, for the first time that he could remember, he was relieved that his schedule did not include any flight time.

"You're getting a reprieve, you little shit," he grumbled under his breath as he drove in the opposite direction of Dick's house. "But we are not done here."

* * *

Veronica felt off balance as she drove into work. She and Logan had fought the night before, then made up, and then he ran out extra early with no more 'making up' activities as she'd hoped. She'd had to feed Pony her medications on her own, and the practicalities of getting Pony's morning business handled had been tiresome without a helper who could easily pick the dog up and carry her outside. She'd come close to calling Dick to come pick Pony up and take care of her all day, but with no way of knowing if Pony had gotten over the confusion of the day before and her aversion to Cole, it seemed risky. In the end, she'd coaxed the dog into using the puppy pads they'd used when they first got her and then left one out for any emergency needs.

Her dad and Mac were already in the office when she finally arrived for the first time since Pony's accident.

"Bond, how's the pooch this morning?" Mac asked as Veronica walked in.

"She's doing good. I'm regretting not buying those pill-hiding snacks though. The peanut butter trick was messy this morning. I made Logan do it last night but he took off super early this morning and I got stuck. Literally. I had peanut butter all over."

"Wait till she figures out how to suck the peanut butter off the pill and then spit it back at you," Keith said as he entered the room. "You might just want to go to the pet store and spring for those pill hider things. They're easier."

"Maybe," Veronica conceded. "So? What's been going on here since my domestic disturbance?"

She followed Keith back to his office for an update on the surveillance he'd covered for her, as well as a new case that had come in the day before.

"Okay, Pops, sounds good. Sorry for going AWOL on you the last couple days. I think we'll be back to normal soon."

"It's no problem. We weren't that busy. Just glad the grand-dog is doing fine." He laughed at his own joke, but then sobered when Veronica didn't laugh with him. "You said she's fine. Is there something else going on?"

Veronica moved back toward his desk and sat in his client chair again. "Have you ever had a dog get a head injury?"

Keith raised his eyebrows at the question, then steepled his hands, resting his chin on the fingers as he looked at her thoughtfully. "Umm, no. I worked with a K-9 once who got shot and another who took a pretty severe beating while taking down a suspect but I don't think you see a lot of head injuries in dogs. There's something in the musculature in their necks and skulls that gives them a harder head than people."

Veronica nodded. "That's kinda what Dr. Beck said. But she was out of it when Dick hauled her out of the pipe and she had a lump behind her right ear."

"That sounds like she got clobbered pretty good then. Maybe something tossed around in the incoming tide?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"The doctor wasn't worried about it?" he asked.

"No, as long as she's alert, it sounded like everything is fine."

"But clearly, something's not fine."

Veronica looked at him sharply. "Why do you say that?"

"Because you're asking questions, dear daughter. That means something's going on. Doesn't take a detective to figure that out."

She chuckled at him. "Yeah, good point. It's just—" she frowned "—she's acting weird with Cole, but not with anyone else. I know a head injury can mess with a person's personality but a dog's? And she's still the same with everyone else, but she actually snapped at him when we picked her up yesterday. It's just weird. Cole and Logan are her favorite people and she's still all over Logan like every other woman who's ever met him, but she will only growl at Cole."

Keith sat forward as his expression turned hard. "Is something going on with Logan?"

Veronica cocked her head, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Do you think he's...seeing someone else?"

"What? No! What are you—oohh, I understand." She shook her head decisively. "No, no, no. Logan doesn't cheat. Ever. Never ever. I was just joking about that, although yeah, he gets a lot of attention. It's annoying but it doesn't worry me. In college, yeah, back then it worried me, but that was more about me being insecure than about him not being faithful. No, that is something you never have to worry about. I don't. Not since I came home."

"Okay, well, that's good to hear." Keith leaned back in his chair, seeming to relax. "That statement got me going a little."

"I noticed." She smiled at him. "Thanks, Dad. You've always got my back."

"Damn straight. Now, if Logan's not your concern, then this is about the dog. You want help figuring out what Dick's kid did to her?"

"What?" She looked at him incredulously. "No!"

Keith cupped his ear, a smirk on his face. "That's a really long echo. You already said that. You don't think the kid did something to her?"

"Of course not," Veronica said, feeling the irritation of last night's fight creeping over her. "Cole adores Pony and the feeling is mutual."

"Except, right now, it's not. Growling and snapping is not my idea of adoration." He stopped and looked away, like he was thinking hard. "Although in your house..."

"Dad! Stop with the attempts at humor. Emphasis on attempts." She glared at him and he raised his hands in a placating gesture.

"All right, all right. I'm all serious over here now. My initial reaction, although I already know how you're going to feel about it, is that if Pony's response to Cole has changed after this incident, it's because she equates him with what happened to her. It doesn't have to mean that she's right, but that is the simplest explanation. The head injury idea doesn't seem likely to me. She got hurt and she thinks he's involved. You don't think he was, that's apparent, but she does. And it seems fairly significant that, of the two of you, she was the one who was there."

"She's also a dog," Veronica said irritably. It was extremely agitating that both Logan and her dad were coming down on the same side...opposite her. The fact that everything they said sounded logical was even more aggravating.

"A month ago you wanted a background check on a guy because Pony didn't like him. You're taking a very different position this time around."

Veronica rolled her eyes at his statement. "Dammit. You guys are pissing me off."

"Us guys? Who's my partner in agitation?"

"Logan. Of course. I try to take a reasoned approach, not jump to any conclusions, and you guys can't stop accusing Cole of trying to drown the dog."

"Hey, hey, cool your jets, I never said anything like that." Keith shook his head. "I have way too little information to suggest that. Maybe he put her in the pipe as a joke, not knowing that the water would come all the way up there."

"As much time as he spends on that beach? Seems unlikely that he wouldn't know."

"I don't know then Veronica. Maybe he was the last person she saw—"

"He would have been. Dick said he left her on the deck and left, and Dick didn't check her again."

"So maybe she is a little confused from getting whacked on the noggin and her memory of him is getting mixed up with the time when she was scared and in pain."

Veronica nodded quickly. "Yes, that makes sense. So, she'll get over it as she starts feeling better."

"Maybe. This is all speculation. I guess just give her some time." He looked at her and shrugged and she nodded again as she stood up.

"Yep. That's a plan. Thanks, Dad." She turned to the door but his voice stopped her short before she could get away.

"Umm, Veronica. Just make sure you're being smart about this." She turned and looked at him quizzically. "I know you want to believe that Cole didn't do anything, and maybe he didn't. But I would still keep my eyes open. You know as well as I do that sometimes people do unexpected things. Just be careful. Okay?"

Veronica sighed, wanting to argue, but knowing that he wasn't accusing, just suggesting caution. There wasn't anything wrong with that. And she certainly had plenty of experience with people not behaving as she expected.

"Okay, Dad. I will. Thanks."

* * *

Mac sat at her desk, thinking about the conversation that she hadn't been able to avoid hearing. There did seem to be the possibility that Cole could have had something to do with Pony's...injuries. She couldn't say accident anymore, not when it was starting to look like maybe it wasn't accidental. She understood Veronica's insistence that Cole hadn't been involved; that was her initial reaction also.

She still found herself somewhat surprised at how attached she had gotten to the boy since he'd come into their lives. When Dick had first approached her about checking Cole's story out and confirming that he was Dick's child, she'd agreed to help but she had no interest whatsoever in Cole himself. She could only think of him as an unexpected burden for Dick. Not that she really cared about Dick's burdens—he was only in her life because of their respective friendships with Logan and Veronica. Beyond that, Dick Casablancas didn't register with her and his recently discovered kid certainly didn't either. That had changed dramatically when she got to know him. She hadn't expected to add more people to her life in that way, but she'd ended up caring about Cole. She even found herself feeling protective of Cole in the same way she did about her brother, which shocked her more than anything.

As far as Dick was concerned, she'd realized while doing his research, that, in spite of Dick's remaining frat boy tendencies, he was actually pretty funny, and unexpectedly friendly. Mac had watched his 'hostilities' with Veronica since she'd come back to town, and remembered them from back in college, but she had realized as she spent time with him away from Veronica that when he wasn't faced with the person most likely to take Logan from him, he was usually friendly and amusing.

She'd also realized that he no longer made her think of Cassidy; not like he used to at least. For at least six months after graduation, she couldn't look at Dick without seeing his brother and feeling the sting of that night. Then she met Bronson, and later, Max, and she finally learned to think about sex without feeling cold, and alone, and unwanted. Bronson had been so warm and caring; he'd been ideal to help her get over the idea that no one could ever want her. Unfortunately, she'd quickly realized that he was too warm and caring. She was sarcastic and pragmatic and his soft-spoken idealism just didn't mesh with that. In that way, she'd matched better with Max, although who knows how that would have worked out over time. It hadn't taken too long for his lack of ambition to end that relationship. After a while, she stopped looking too hard at the image a person was trying to project and starting choosing to spend time with people whose company she enjoyed. That had turned out a lot of different ways, especially when occasionally those people were women, but she'd been burned by people trying to make her think they were one thing when they were something else entirely and she wasn't interested in falling into that trap again.

Over the years, the sting of her frightening graduation night had lessened and she'd been able to mourn for what could have been with Cassidy, if not for his abuse by Woody. He'd had so many qualities that appealed to her. He could be soft and sweet, but wicked smart, with a dry wit, and more ambition than most. She couldn't forget the cruel streak though. He hadn't shown it to her much, but when he did, he went for the jugular. Later on, she'd remembered the Winter Carnival, and the trick they'd played on Dick, and how Dick had been ready to pound on Cassidy. He'd said something to his brother—she had no idea what—but she still remembered the look that crossed Dick's face before he backed away. At the time, it hadn't been anything but a relief that her date wasn't going to end up needing to go to the hospital. Later, knowing what Cassidy had been capable of, she'd wondered what words had passed between them. She would never ask Dick, but she still wondered.

Mac thought of the last thing Keith said to Veronica before she'd left his office and gone to her own. _Sometimes people do unexpected things._ Cole was sweet and funny and smart, like Cassidy had been. _Like Cassidy had seemed._ Right up until they found out all the completely unexpected things he'd done. What if Cole was more like his uncle than she or Veronica wanted to believe? It was easy to blame Woody's abuse for Cassidy's actions but none of his other victims became mass murderers. At least not that she knew of. How much of what Cassidy did just came from him, not from what had happened to him? She had wondered about that occasionally through the years. Now she hoped she wasn't finally getting an answer to that question. All indications had been that Cole had lived a safe, loved life, nothing like what Cassidy had experienced with Big Dick and his parade of wives. And yet, it now appeared that Cole may have deliberately harmed an innocent animal. Mac hoped that Veronica was right and something else had happened here. Something that didn't involve Cole following in Cassidy's footsteps.

* * *

The remains of the sweatshirt with Cole's initials in it had dried as it sat in Logan's car while he was at work. It was now stiff with salt in Logan's hand as he waited on the porch for someone to answer his knock.

The door opened and Logan smiled brightly at the teenager in front of him. "Cole. Just the guy I'm looking for." He took a few steps inside the house, a feeling of _déjà vu_ washing over him as Cole backed away from him just like Dick had a few days earlier.

Cole glared at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to return something of yours." He flung the sweatshirt at Cole's chest. The boy's hands came up, trapping the sweatshirt against himself before it could fall. He turned the cloth in his hands, looking at it with confusion at first, then, as he saw the back, a look of perplexed recognition crossed his face.

"A Neptune High sweatshirt?" he asked. "Why are you bringing this to me?"

"I thought it might belong to you," Logan answered, but before he could say anything else, Dick appeared in the entry.

"Logan," he said, sounding surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I took a little field trip today. Down the beach a ways. I wanted to see for myself where my dog got into trouble." He smiled at Dick and another feeling struck him then, one he hadn't experienced quite like this in years. Contained rage. He felt like he always had, back in high school, when he'd taunted Veronica. For siding with her father or for leaving him for Duncan. "I wanted to tell you thanks. For getting Pony out of there, and for keeping Veronica out of the water. I appreciate what you did."

"It was no problem, man," Dick said. "I couldn't let Ronnie and the pooch get hurt."

Logan nodded. "Yeah, I'm glad. Of course, if it wasn't for your kid, they wouldn't have been at risk in the first place."

The shock on Dick's face gave him a thrill. "What are you talking about?"

Logan gestured toward Cole. "I'm talking about Cole setting this whole thing in motion." He pointed at the sweatshirt that Cole was clutching against himself. "I found the sweatshirt in the pipe."

Dick stepped closer to Cole, reaching for the sweatshirt. Cole held onto it possessively at first, then sighed and handed it to Dick who held it up, turning it around in his hands as he studied it.

"What does this have to do with Cole? It looks like someone lost a sweatshirt out on the beach and it washed into the pipe. Look how torn up it is."

"Check the inside tag." Dick turned the shirt again, looking for a tag. "It says CTC. As in Cole Tierney Casablancas? That's what I think anyway. And look at it. Arms knotted and the back chewed through. What does that look like to you?"

Dick had found the tag and was looking at Cole, before he turned back to Logan. "I don't know, dude. What do you think it looks like?"

"I think it looks like he tied the sweatshirt around her, hung it up on one of the roots of that big chunk of tree that's blocking the pipe, and left her there for the tide to come in. Left your gate open, to make it look like she ran off, and told you she was out on the deck so you wouldn't be concerned. It looks like Pony probably chewed through the sweatshirt, trying to get loose, but she still couldn't get away. Luckily, you turned up and pulled her out of there before the tide finished the job."

"No!" Cole shouted, at the same time that Dick yelled, "What the hell?" and shoved Logan away from Cole.

"I haven't seen that sweatshirt in like a month," Cole said. "I don't know what happened to it; it just disappeared."

"Really?" Logan said sarcastically, stepping back toward Cole. "I'm supposed to believe that?"

"It's the truth," Cole said. "I would never hurt Pony."

"So, your sweatshirt turns up in the pipe where she almost gets killed, she HATES you now, and I'm supposed to believe you would never harm a hair on her head. Is that right?"

"Yes, that's right." Cole looked earnestly at Logan. "I swear. I would never hurt her. I don't know what's happening here but I did not do any of what you just said. We ran down the beach, we goofed off in the water, and I brought her home." He seemed so sincere, Logan could almost believe him. "I am telling you the truth. I promise."

"Then why is she afraid of you?"

"I don't know." The boy's voice was anguished.

"And how do you—"

"Enough!" Dick stepped between Cole and Logan. "He doesn't know and he says he didn't do anything. So you can either back off, or you can leave."

Logan looked at Dick in surprise. He'd never really taken a stand against Logan before. He had that feeling again, that one that reminded him of tormenting Veronica. Even though he felt justified in his actions now, whatever he was feeling as he watched Cole react to him was making him uncomfortable.

"Fine. I'm going. Just know, kid, you haven't gotten away with anything, and I'll be damned if you get another chance to hurt my dog or anyone else I care about."

"I didn't—" Cole began but Logan cut him off, snapping his hand up in front of him like a stop sign.

"Don't bother. I know what I saw. Unless you can explain those things, in a way that I can buy, we're done." Logan turned back to the door. As he reached for the door handle, Dick's voice stopped him.

"Logan, Cole says he didn't do this, and I believe him."

He turned back and gave Dick a hard look.

"We always believed Beaver was a harmless little geek, too. Look how that ended up." He turned back to the door and slipped out.

* * *

Logan stepped into the apartment and drew in a long breath. He'd driven around Neptune aimlessly, trying to get himself back together before going home. It had taken close to an hour before he finally felt calm enough to face Veronica.

"Hey you," she called from the living room. "That is you, right? I don't need to get out my taser, do I?"

He smiled and walked toward her voice. "No tasers. It's just me." She was on the couch, legs curled to the side, with Pony next to her, her head resting on Veronica's legs. "How are my girls tonight?"

"Lonely. Where've you been? I expected you home ages ago." She grinned at him, a playful twinkle in her eyes. "Your dinner is lukewarm and dried out on the stove."

"Cool. That's my favorite." He leaned down to kiss her. Pony's head came up and he scratched her gently. "How's the gimp?"

Veronica snorted. "We should all be so gimpy. I was all worried about her this morning, how she was going to get around, afraid to take her downstairs to do her business. Not anymore. She's almost as mobile with three legs working as with four."

"Haven't you seen the videos with the actual three-legged dogs, herding sheep, running races, doing ballet?" Veronica snorted again. "Okay, maybe not the ballet. Anyway, dogs are pretty resilient, from what I can tell."

"Yeah, that's apparent. So, go get your dinner and tell me about your day. Anything interesting happen?"

Logan looked at her speculatively. He knew this was probably a mistake, holding back what he'd found, and what he'd done, but she seemed like she was in such a good mood, and he just wanted a nice, calm evening. "Nothing that can't wait for later."


	19. Chapter 19

Veronica smiled down at Logan as she pushed her hand against his chest and climbed out of his lap.

"All right, Lieutenant," she said, her voice both teasing and a little breathless, "why don't you give Pony her last dose of antibiotics for the day and I'll go get ready for bed."

"Oh really?" he teased back, reaching out to try to keep a hand on her as she moved away from him. "Why don't you give her the meds and I'll get ready for bed?"

"Nope, I've got dibs on you dealing with Pony."

"What is that? Like anti-dibs?" he asked. "Never actually heard of that."

"VMars original. You saw it here first." She backed out of reach, smiling at him coyly. "Plus, I'm way ahead of you on getting to the bedroom—" she took another step closer to their room "—so I think you're going to be the one dealing with the dog."

He sat forward quickly on the couch, like he was going to bolt down the hall, and she shrieked and dashed away. The bedroom door slammed behind her, somehow sounding less ominous than the same noise had seemed the night before. Logan grinned and shook his head, then stood and went to the kitchen to doctor Pony's pill.

The dog was getting the hang of a sweet treat before bed and she followed him into the kitchen, sitting at his feet as he tucked the pill into a glob of peanut butter.

"What are you going to do when the pills run out, Pony girl?" he asked. "You're still going to want a spoonful of peanut butter at bedtime every night, aren't you?" He bent over to extend his hand to her and she licked the sticky mess off his fingers. "I don't think peanut butter's probably bad for you so maybe this'll be our thing." He rinsed his hand off. "What do ya think? Peanut butter as your nighttime snack? We'll probably have to keep your mother in the dark though. She'll have something to say about healthy snacks for dogs or some other silliness. Or—" he stroked the dog's head "—she might just want her own spoonful. She probably won't like someone else getting a snack if she doesn't get one too."

Logan walked out of the kitchen, Pony trailing behind him. "Okay, time for bed. Sweet dreams, Pone." He moved to the bedroom door and as he grabbed the doorknob, he noticed the dog was still following him. "Go to bed, Pony," he said in a stern voice. She looked up at him sadly and he shook his head. "Go to bed."

He would swear that she sighed, then turned and hobbled back to her bed. He chuckled as he watched her disappear down the hallway, then opened the bedroom door. Veronica was crossing the room from the bathroom, wrapped in a robe.

"Pony's all taken care of for the night?" she asked. She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled, then dropped her robe before slipping under the covers.

"Uhh, yeah, she is." He swallowed hard as he watched her settle against the headboard, the sheet pulled up under her arms. "So, give me a minute and I'll be with you."

"Don't take too long," she replied and he headed for the bathroom. "I could fall asleep any moment."

"That would be tragic," he called back to her with a laugh.

It was only a little more than a minute and he was back out and crawling into bed beside her. "Still awake?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her down next to him.

"Nope. Sound asleep." She snuggled in his arms. "Can't you tell?"

"There's no snoring, so I guess I didn't notice."

"I do not snore," she said indignantly.

He wrinkled his nose at her. "Mmmm, yeah, you kinda do." He ducked down to nuzzle into her neck. "It's cute."

"Snoring is not cute."

"We're gonna have to agree to disagree on that one." He nipped at her ear. "I'm a fan of most things you do."

"Oh really?" She pushed away to look in his eyes. "Than this is probably the time to tell you what I'm doing tomorrow. While you're claiming to agree with all of my choices."

"I didn't say all of your choices; I said most. Those are not the same things. Not at all." He tugged her closer again. "So? What's happening tomorrow?"

"I'm calling your once and future BFF and inviting him and his kid over. Pony's feeling better; I think it's time to start getting them together again."

This time, it was Logan who pulled away. "Are you serious?"

"Definitely. She's had a couple days to get over whatever was going on with her and we can't have this weirdness between them. I know you're gonna take a little longer to get back to normal with Dick so I'll make arrangements while you're at work—"

"No." Logan sat up, leaning against the headboard. "No, they are not coming over here while I'm at work. I'd rather if they don't come over at all, but definitely not when I'm not here."

Veronica looked up at him. "What are you talking about? I know you're mad but you don't want them here without you? I thought you'd prefer that."

Logan shook his head, sighing, knowing this wasn't going to go well but it was time to face the music. "I don't want you alone with them, especially Cole."

Veronica's whole body stiffened, and the hand that had moved to his leg when he sat up pulled away from him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He looked down and her, pressing his lips tightly together as he prepared to fill her in on the events of the day. "Okay. This morning, I went over to the spot where Pony got hurt."

"You what?"

"You heard me. I went over there to check out the scene...try to figure out what happened. I know you don't want to blame Cole, but I had to check things out for myself." Logan reached down to trace her hairline. She remained still beneath his hand, but didn't pull away.

"Okay. I can understand that. But obviously, you found something that's got you worked up. So let's hear it."

Her reasonable tone of voice spurred him on. "The pipe was really full of debris, and there was a big piece of wood blocking a lot of it. I'm not sure how she would have gotten past it on her own. And then, beyond it, I found a sweatshirt."

She looked up at him, confusion on her face. "Something that got washed into the pipe?"

"No, I don't think so. The arms were knotted together and the back was chewed up. I think that's what kept Pony down where the water was rushing into the pipe instead of escaping further back away from the tide."

Now she looked alarmed. "Someone did this to Pony on purpose? Who would do something like that?"

"Veronica? Have you forgotten why you think you need to get Cole and Pony back together? Because she's acting like he did something to her. And the sweatshirt belonged to Cole."

Her eyes widened. "Cole's? How do you know that?"

"His initials were on the tag. And when I brought it to him, he didn't deny it was his. He just claimed he hadn't seen it for a while."

She sat up abruptly. "When you brought it to him? When was that?"

He looked away from her. This is the part he'd been avoiding. "After work. I wanted Cole to know that I was onto him. I don't want him thinking he can pull this shit again. I am sorry I left the sweatshirt there though. Now they can just get rid of the evidence. I should've held onto it."

"You accused Cole of doing this to Pony on purpose?"

"Well, yeah." He squirmed under her glare. "Who else would have done it? Cole's sweatshirt...there's no other explanation."

"Yes, there is. What did he say?"

"Of course he said that he didn't do anything. And he hadn't seen the sweatshirt for a month. And he would never hurt Pony." He rolled his eyes. "I didn't expect him to confess."

"Maybe because he didn't do anything. Everything is circumstantial. I'm not willing to just blame him." She scooted up next to him. "Look, I get where you're coming from. I know you're all about protecting us so I understand why you're worried. But I hope you can be worried without going completely overboard."

He squinted at her, eyebrow raised. "Define overboard."

She rolled her eyes. "Accusing."

"Too late."

"Threatening."

"Hmm, well, not really, kinda depends on your perspective."

"Punching."

"Nope, no punching." The look on her face was closer to a smirk than a snarl, which he took as a good sign. "So, good job, Logan. Right?"

She scoffed and shook her head. "I don't think I'd go there."

Logan shrugged. "I had to give it a try." He wrapped her securely in his arms. "Look, we've got different views on this subject and I get that. We just need to find some middle ground where I'm not doing anything that you hate, and you're not doing anything that makes me crazy. Do you think such a place exists?"

She looked at him with one side of her mouth quirked up. "I'm reasonably confident. My first requirement: no more going over to their house and harassing either of them."

"That's fine. I didn't enjoy it. Or...well...I...okay, that one's no problem."

Veronica looked up at him suspiciously. "I'm not sure what all that stammering meant. Should I worry?"

"No." He kissed the top of her head. "I won't be going back to the house. So? My turn?"

"Yes, your turn."

"Okay, it's similar to yours. No more going over to their house. Not alone at least." He kissed her head again.

Veronica sighed. "Oh, Logan. You're being ridiculous."

"Hey!" he exclaimed, pouting. "I didn't call your requirement ridiculous and it was nearly identical."

"But mine was because I'm worried about your behavior and yours is because you're worried about theirs."

"Uh huh, that sounds right. Any other requests?"

"Logan, you don't need to worry about Dick and Cole," she said insistently.

"Maybe not, but that's my input to establishing our middle ground. Are you cooperating or not?" He scooted down to a reclined position, pulling her with him. "That's all I've got to contribute for now. If you don't have anything else, and you're willing to agree to my single term, then I think we're good. I've already agreed to yours." He kissed her nose. "Didn't argue or anything."

She rolled her eyes. "All right. I reserve the right to come back to this discussion though."

"I'm fine with that as long as I have the same opportunity."

"Deal." She smiled up at him. "Should we shake hands? Seal this deal officially?"

"I think I may have a better idea," he said with a grin as he pulled her closer.

* * *

"Veronica? Can you come in here please?"

"Hang on, Dad, let me drop off my bag." Veronica raised her eyebrows at Mac, who shrugged, and moved to her own desk to put away her bag. They had just returned from lunch but Keith had been locked in his office all morning. Veronica dumped her messenger bag in her chair and went back to her dad's office.

"Hey, Dad, what's up? You've been avoiding us all day."

Keith looked up at her as she entered the room and sat across from him. "Yeah, I was having a conversation with a police detective in San Francisco. And then he sent me the working version of their report."

"Report on what?"

He looked at her with eyebrows raised. "Umm, the case I inquired about at your request? Maggie Tierney's death?"

Veronica sat forward in her seat. "A detective? That doesn't sound like the delay in the report was about a toxicology report."

"Yeah, that slowed things down, but it hasn't been the issue lately." Keith studied his computer screen. "What do you know about Maggie's accident?"

She shook her head. "Nothing really. Just an accident about six months ago. Mac might have heard more. Do you want her in here?"

"Sure," he nodded, then called out to the lobby. "Mac? Can you join us?"

"Coming," Mac called, then she appeared in the doorway. "What's up?"

"Dad wants to know what we know about Maggie's accident. I don't know anything except it happened about six months before we met Cole. I thought you might know more since you did all of Dick's research."

"Oh yeah, I got the general story on what happened." She moved into the office and sat in the chair next to Veronica. "Her car went over an enbankment into the Bay late at night last summer. Cole was home by himself when the police came to tell him that she'd been in an accident. He'd seen her the night before, then they showed up in the morning to notify him. Until they gave him the news, he'd just figured she was at work."

"Ugh," Veronica said with a shudder. "That would have been terrible. What was her cause of death? Injuries from the accident or drowning?"

"I don't know. I wasn't checking up on that and I never talked to Mrs. Tierney or Cole about it. They said accident and I just left it at that. How she died wasn't really relevant to what I was investigating."

"That's understandable," Veronica said. "So? What do you know about this, Dad?"

"Well, apparently my request for a police report triggered an inquiry. The investigating officers contacted Sheriff Langdon to see if I was known to the local sheriff's department." Keith smiled sheepishly. "She confirmed that I was, and not in a bad way...that once upon a time I actually piloted the ship. Once they were convinced I wasn't a person of interest in their case, or likely to be working for one, they called me to see why I was inquiring about their report."

"They don't think this was an accident," Veronica said softly. "They think someone killed her."

"They aren't ready to say that, but there are suspicious elements that they can't reconcile." Keith looked at both Veronica and Mac seriously. "Her cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, not drowning. However, the car was found just off the road with the front end submerged."

"If she was that close to the road, the car couldn't have been going very fast as it went off the road," Veronica speculated. "Otherwise, it would have been further out in the water."

"That's right," Keith said. "There was a shoulder right where she went over; the speculation is that she pulled over for some reason and didn't realize how close the edge was. It definitely appeared that the car had been moving slowly when it went over the side."

"So how do they think she managed to hit her head hard enough to die if she was moving that slowly?" Mac asked.

"That's one of the questions. That, and the fact that there was no water in her lungs at all. Even if she managed to get knocked out at the low speed, she should have been breathing when the car went under the water and the cause of death would most likely have been drowning." Keith shrugged. "There is the possibility that the car didn't go into the water immediately. There's enough of a slope that the car could have gone over the side and not have gone all the way under the water right away. If she'd hit her head, she might have died before the car submerged. Then she wouldn't have been breathing to draw any water in."

"That doesn't seem very plausible," Veronica said. "Which is why they're speculating that this was foul play."

Keith nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Now at least. At first, this just got put down as a single car accident. The autopsy was done, and blood went in for toxicology, and they released the body to her mom. Toxicology came back clear, and the coroner's office released their report, but it just sat in the file and no one really looked at it for a while. A month or so ago, an officer finally looked at all the pieces, probably expecting to be able to just close the case, but instead, when they looked at everything all together, they developed suspicions about how she died."

Veronica frowned and glanced at Mac. "They're looking at Nathan, right? I know they were broken up but still, the boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend in this case, is always the first one they look at."

"He claimed they were engaged, not broken up, and yeah, they brought him in for questioning. He was at a retreat thing for his work. Still in San Francisco but the whole event was at the hotel so everyone stayed overnight even if they lived in the city. He was with his group until about 9:30 PM, and then he says he went up to his room for the night. No one saw him again for the rest of the night. His car was in valet parking and didn't come out. There were no requests for an Uber or a Lyft on his account and no calls for a taxi in the area from anyone who matched his description. So, even though they're suspicious about her death, and he's the most obvious suspect, they really don't have anything on him."

"Who else would it be?" Veronica asked. "If it's not him, are we just back to it being a preposterous accident?"

"Well, there's Cole."

"What?" Veronica and Mac exclaimed together.

"Why would they think that?" Veronica added. The look on her dad's face made her apprehensive.

"Nathan gave them his alibi, which largely checked out, even though no one saw him after he went up to his room. And then, after they'd questioned him, once he knew there was something going on that they were suspicious about, he told them that Maggie had been worried about telling Cole about them being back together, because she knew he was going to be angry. According to Nathan, he'd tried to get her to agree to tell Cole together, that he was nervous about how Cole was going to react, but Maggie thought it would go better with just her. He suggested that maybe Maggie had told Cole, and he was upset enough that he hit her. Or pushed her and she hit her head."

"That's crazy," Veronica interjected. "A thirteen year old boy doesn't kill his mom because she has bad taste in men, and how does Nathan, the creep, explain how she ended up in her car in San Francisco Bay?"

"Yeah, that doesn't make sense," Mac agreed. "How would he set up a car accident and how would he get back home?"

"Well, Nathan's explanation for that was that Cole can drive. His father...I mean grandfather...taught him. Maggie never let him since he was only thirteen, which Nathan also said made Cole mad, but if something happened and he wanted to set up this fake accident, he would have been able to drive the car to the spot where it went in the water."

"Nathan told the cops that? How, pray tell, did the thirteen year old get home after that" asked Veronica, aggravated by the thought. "They certainly didn't believe that story."

"They confirmed the bit about being able to drive with Mrs. Tierney," Keith answered. "And Nathan would have to have a way away from the scene too, so that issue doesn't rule either of them out."

"Hang on, how did they confirm with Mrs. Tierney? Did they tell her that they suspect her grandson killed her daughter?"

"I don't think so," Keith answered. "I think they probably contacted her under some guise without really giving her any information so she would answer their questions."

"That's dirty," Mac said, her nose wrinkled in distaste. "Can they do that?"

"Yes," Veronica responded, "they can." She turned to her father. "When did they talk to him? You said a month or so ago?"

"Yeah, a month, maybe six weeks ago."

"And that's about the time he showed up at Dick's, right?" She looked at Mac, who nodded. "So he tried to deflect suspicion away from himself by blaming a teenaged boy and then he turns up at their house, pretending he was concerned about Cole."

"He could have been checking up on him, just to see if he thought Cole could have done such a thing," Keith suggested.

"He rode to Neptune with Mrs. Tierney and I'm betting he never mentioned his concerns to her," Veronica said angrily.

"That is not a bet I'd take," Keith agreed. "The investigating officer doesn't really think it's Cole, but he hasn't completely ruled him out either. All they have is suspicious circumstances with no real evidence. They're not ready to even say yet that this is anything other than an accident."

"So what about Nathan? Has he been ruled out?" Mac asked.

"He's not totally off the hook," Keith replied. "His alibi is shaky but there's no hard evidence against him, or anyone, right now. The way things currently stand, this may just stay an unexplained accident."

"It's Nathan," Veronica said with certainty. "He tried to reconcile with Maggie, maybe had her come meet him at the hotel, she told him that she wouldn't get back with him, and he struck out and killed her. Then he set up the accident."

"Nice theory, but there's no evidence of that." Keith raised his eyebrows, pinning her in place with his glance. "Remember please, this is not our case. Don't make me sorry that I filled you in on this."

"Dad, that creep is trying to set up Cole up for killing his own mother."

"And the police are handling it. Stay out of it, Veronica." His serious look turned into a glare. "I mean it. You too, Mac. This is an active investigation. Do not get mixed up in it."

Veronica saw Mac nod at him, but she could only glare back. "When have you cared about staying out of active investigations? You've inserted yourself into plenty of law enforcement investigations."

"With incompetent Neptune sheriffs," Keith retorted. "And don't pretend you haven't done the same."

"I would never pretend that. Logan's not on death row because I got involved."

"Incompetent Neptune sheriffs," he repeated. "Do not insert yourself into a San Francisco police department case. It doesn't look like anything is going to come of this anyway so you don't need to start defending Cole. Are you listening to me?"

"Yes, Dad," she said, then stood and walked to the door. "I will not get involved in an SFPD case. Happy?"

"Ecstatic."

* * *

Both Keith and Mac had gone home for the day and Veronica was about to shut down her system when she heard the door rattle, then a knock. She knew that her dad had locked the door when he left so she came out of her office to see who was trying to get in. She could see a shadow on the other side of the frosted door glass.

"We're closed," she called out. "We open again at 9:00 AM tomorrow."

Cole's voice, slightly muffled, came through the door. "Veronica, it's me. Can I come in please?"

Veronica froze. She'd agreed not to go to his house less than twenty-four hours ago, and since then, she'd learned he was potentially a murder suspect. She knew that was ridiculous but she also knew that Logan would not be happy about her letting him in the office when she was here alone.

"Hey Cole, I'm kinda busy. Can we talk later? Maybe I can call you in a little while?"

She startled when the door banged, but she could see that it was just Cole thumping his head against the door. "Please Veronica? I really need to talk to you." His voice sounded different than usual. He normally sounded happy and excited, whatever he was doing, even when it was something mundane. Now he sounded sad and a bit desperate. "Please?"

She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. She was very sure that he hadn't done anything to his mom, or to Pony, but Logan's point was that she wasn't always right. If this was one of those cases, she was potentially taking a very big chance, not to mention flouting the spirit of what she had promised Logan the night before. The letter of the agreement had been that she would not go alone to their house. Letting the boy into the office with no one else here was basically the same thing.

"Veronica?"

"Hang on a second." She went back into her office and unlocked her bottom desk drawer, then keyed in the combination to her desk gun safe. The drawer slid open and she pulled the handgun her dad had forced on her out and checked its status. Full magazine with a bullet in the chamber. She laid it on the keyboard tray under where her laptop sat. It was always empty since she used the laptop keyboard but she occasionally stashed items there for easy access. With the gun within reach and ready to go, she reached for her messenger bag and pulled out her preferred method of self defense, Mr. Sparky. Well, Mr. Sparky the Second to be more accurate.

She tucked the stun gun into her waistband and went back out to the lobby. "Cole, what do you need to talk about that can't wait?" she asked.

"I need your help, Veronica," he responded and she chuckled and shook her head. Those words were like her catnip. _At least I can admit that._

"Okay, hold on." She unlocked the door and opened it slightly before stepping back. _Maintain a little distance._ "Come on in, Cole."

He stepped inside, backpack over one shoulder. "Thanks."

"No problem. Why don't we go in my office?" She gestured him in ahead of her so she wouldn't have her back to him. He sat in the client chair and she walked around the desk and sat down, pulling the stun gun discretely from her waist band while she was behind him, then setting it on the keyboard tray next to her Sig. If anything went wrong, she was prepared. "So what's up?

"I didn't hurt Pony," he said decisively. She nodded.

"I believe you but you have to realize that the way she is reacting to you is suspicious. And, Logan told me that he found your sweatshirt in the pipe, and the space seemed almost deliberately set up to trap her."

He shook his head vehemently. "I would never—"

"I believe you. I'm just telling you, the situation doesn't look that good."

"That's why I need your help. I need to convince other people, like Logan, that I didn't do anything." His face changed, the determined look replaced by sadness. "Dad is really upset. I need Logan to know the truth so he'll be my dad's friend again. He's so sad without him. I know that there's more happening than just this thing with me and Pony but...I just can't be the reason that they aren't friends anymore."

Veronica was surprised by how much she could relate to what Cole was saying. She'd felt the same way when the estrangement was all about her.

"Okay, I understand what you're saying. Do you have any ideas on how we can fix this?" she asked.

"Maybe figure out who actually did it?" he suggested and suddenly, everything clicked into place in her head. She smacked her hand against her forehead.

"Oh shit, I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier."

"Think of what?" Cole asked and she frowned, realizing that she didn't want to talk to him yet about the possibility that his mom had been murdered and he was being set up to look like a suspect by her actual killer.

"Nothing, nevermind. So, do you have any ideas about what happened that day with Pony? Like how'd your sweatshirt end up in there?"

"I have no idea," he said mournfully. "I hadn't seen that sweatshirt for weeks." His face lit up with a realization. "Remember? That night that we took you out for ice cream? When we found out about Logan's leaving for that couple weeks? You kept complaining that I needed more clothes because I made you cold? That was when I realized that I couldn't find that hoodie."

She sat back in her chair, hoping she could draw out his memory. "Okay, when was the last time you saw it before that?"

He sighed heavily, dropping his head back and staring at the ceiling. "Umm, hmm. That day you guys came home from your vacation and you were engaged. I know I was wearing it at the beach that day because it was chilly and I went back in the house and got it." He stroked his chin, deep in thought. "I had it the day that you brought me home from school, when you were there talking to Clemmons, because it got too hot and I had it tied around my waist." He huffed, then brought his head back to look at her again. "You and Dad were outside looking mad at each other and I stayed by the door watching you guys. I just hung the hoodie up on the hook by the door and I seriously do not remember it again after that."

 _And it was a couple weeks later that Nathan came to town._ "Would you have moved it to put it in the laundry?"

The boy looked at her like she was crazy. "It's a jacket. Why would I put it in the wash?"

She stifled a grin. "Jackets can be laundered, Cole. Just for future reference. Some people actually enjoy clean clothes."

"Ha ha."

Another thought occurred to her. "That day I brought you home, you were on your skateboard. Did you use to skateboard a lot when you lived in San Francisco?

"No, not really. Too hilly. I did back when I lived with...my grandparents."

"How did you get around when you lived in San Francisco?" she asked, her voice deliberately casual.

"My mom drove me around a lot. I rode the bus. Her douche boyfr—" he paused and looked guiltily at her "—sorry...her creep boyfriend rode a bike but that was as crazy as skateboarding. Well, not as crazy, I guess. At least a bike has brakes."

She laughed at him. "Yeah, brakes sound like a good thing going down all those hills. But going up them? Then I want a motor."

"I know, right? But he said it was all about knowing how to use your gears, and your momentum."

"So he biked a lot?"

"Yeah, really more than he drove. He had the car but he didn't use it very often. And his bike was always strapped on the back if he did drive somewhere. In case he found someplace that 'was seen better from a biker's eye view'." The last part of his statement was said in an affected, pretentious voice. "He was a douche. Sorry, but there's just no better way to put that. I have no idea what Maggie saw in him."

"He didn't seem like that when he showed up at your dad's house," she said, maintaining the air of casual conversation.

"He was the nicest I've ever seen him that day. No, wait—" he held his hand up, like he was signaling himself to stop that thought "—that's not true. Back before I knew about Maggie, when I lived with my grandparents, she used to come down and visit a lot and she started bringing him along toward the end, before my grandpa got sick. He was always nice as pie with my grandparents. Well, with my grandmother mostly. My grandpa did not like him. He thought he was a douche too. That's actually his choice of word, not mine. I just think it fits, and if it was good enough for my grandpa, it's good enough for me."

Veronica laughed again, although her suspicious brain was starting to work overtime. "Well, he's out of your life now. There's no real reason for him to come around again."

"You'd think that but it sounds like he's still keeping in touch with Grandma. I wish he'd just get lost."

"He hasn't come over to visit with her again, has he?"

"No, she knows now that I'm not really crazy about him. She mentions once in a while that he asks how I'm doing, what I'm up to, stuff like that. I think she thinks I don't like him because he reminds me of Maggie...my mom...and she thinks it's just some kind of grief avoidance thing. Really, I just don't like him." A sad look crossed his face. "Neither did Pony. But now she doesn't like me either."

"I think we'll be able to work this out. I do not think you did anything to her. Don't worry about that."

"Logan thinks I hurt her on purpose."

She shook her head and smiled at him kindly. "Let me worry about Logan. Hey! He said he gave you the sweatshirt. Do you have it still? Or did you throw it away?"

"No, I've got it." He leaned down and dug in his backpack, pulling out a plastic bag.

"You have it here?" she asked incredulously. He handed the bag to her.

"I wasn't sure if it would be helpful."

She opened the bag and then held it away from her, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "Ugh, this stinks."

"That's why it's in the bag. It smells kinda like mud flats. I think it's from being in that pipe for a while."

She reached in and pulled out the sweatshirt, trying not to breathe. "Is this how it was when Logan gave it to you?"

"Yeah."

She turned the sweatshirt all around, trying to visualize the knotted arms around Pony and how the chewed up back related to that placement. "That last day you remember wearing it, you said you'd tied it around your waist. It wasn't still tied together when you hung it up, was it?"

"No, I had to untie it to get it off."

"That makes sense." She shoved the hoodie back in the bag. "Can I keep this?"

"Yep, all yours."

"Okay, good." She shoved the bag under her desk and stood up. "I've got enough to get started, Cole. Don't worry about Logan, or Pony. We're gonna have things back to normal before you know it. Why don't you take off and I'll lock up. We'll talk soon."

"I can wait for you," he said, looking concerned. "So you're not by yourself."

"I'm just fine on my own," she answered, thinking of the gun she had to lock up again that she did not want him to know about. She walked toward the door, gesturing him in front of her. "Go home, and we'll talk very soon. I promise. We're getting this sorted out."

"Okay." He walked to the front door. "Thanks for listening, Veronica. And for believing me."

"I absolutely believe you, Cole. Have a good night."

She locked the door behind him and went back into her office, securing everything again. She stuffed the bag with the hoodie into her messenger bag and then grabbed her phone, pressing the third name from the top of her recent call list.

"Hey, Dad," she said, as she set the alarm and hurried out the front door, "are you busy? I need to run some ideas by you."

* * *

 _Just an FYI – Next week, 'The Casablancas Legacy' is again being pre-empted by another posting. Chapter 20 will be available on October 21st. Next Saturday, October 14th, is my chapter in the 'What Goes Around' multi-author story that can be found on VMHQ's Tumblr and on AO3. If you haven't been reading since it isn't posting on FanFiction, I recommend that you go to one of the places it is and take a look. Ultimately, it will be 26 chapters, told by 25 different authors. I'm doing Chapter 25 so that tale is almost complete. Since I can't give my attention to both that and TCL, my story will take a week's hiatus and then we'll go back to the rapidly approaching, (hopefully) exciting conclusion._


	20. Chapter 20

"Hey, hold on a minute and I'll help you."

Veronica turned to see that Logan had just pulled up behind her car, parked in front of her dad's house. He jumped out of his car and loped up the sidewalk to the porch stairs, where she stood loaded down with two pizzas, a bag of sodas, and her messenger bag. He lifted the bag of sodas off her arm, took the pizzas, and kissed the top of her head.

"Ahh, excellent, I needed a pack mule," Veronica said, leaning in to kiss him.

"Or, as they say in polite society, thank you." Logan smirked at her before kissing her again. She rolled her eyes and continued up the stairs to the door.

"Polite society isn't all it's cracked up to be," she replied as she rapped on her dad's front door, then opened it and walked in. She stood to the side of the door, holding it open for Logan. "If you recall, polite society is where Celeste Kane lives. Is that, all of a sudden, your goal in life?"

He laughed and put the pizza and soda down, then turned and scooped her up in his arms.

"Nope. I'm much happier rolling around in the mud with you out in the cultural wilderness."

He was coming in for what she was anticipating would be a much more involved kiss as he spoke, but his words made her laugh under his mouth.

"You make it sound like we're living 'Deliverance'," she said, still laughing.

"No, not that extreme," he answered, and kissed her again. This one worked better, and Veronica felt them swoop around once and then the kitchen counter was against her back. She had a flash of a memory, the same one that always went through her head when she _really_ kissed Logan at her dad's: the clattering sound of buttons and the feel of her hands on Logan's hard chest. Then the memory was gone, replaced by a raised voice.

"This is what you invited yourself here for?"

They pulled apart, eyes locked. Logan looked mortified, but Veronica just laughed.

"It really wasn't. Honestly, I didn't expect him to get here for at least another hour." That was true. Veronica thought she would have about an hour to speak frankly to her dad about what she'd learned from Cole, hoping that maybe that part, where she let the boy into the office with no one else there, wouldn't have to come up at all while Logan was present. "Why are you here so early?"

Logan looked surprised. "I'm not early. I got your text when I was nearly home and I just stayed on the 5 for another couple of exits." He tipped his head to the side. "You weren't expecting me to be here yet?"

"I thought you'd be a little later," she said, shrugging and keeping her voice as low key as possible, hoping she was projecting a lack of concern about his early appearance. From his raised eyebrows and slow nod, it was clear she was only nominally successful.

"Huh, okay then, lucky you, I'm here earlier than anticipated." He turned away and went to the kitchen cupboards. "Is the soda cold?"

"We'll want glasses and ice," she answered, pulling bottles out of the bag to place on the counter. "Dad? You're ready to eat, right?"

"Of course, daughter o'mine, where do you think you get your appetite?"

"It's not the tapeworm?" Logan asked, placing the plates on the counter and turning back to put ice in the glasses. Keith guffawed.

"Tested for that a long time ago. Negative." Both men grinned at each other and Veronica rolled her eyes.

"So hilarious." She slammed a couple pieces of pizza on her plate, poured an ice-filled glass to the brim with S'kist and stalked to the couch.

"Do you ever wonder about a grown woman who still drinks orange soda?" Keith asked from behind her and Logan snickered.

"Nope. I try not to question her tastes. I'm not sure it would go well for my continued presence in her life." Veronica glared at both of them from the couch but she had to smile at his self-deprecating humor.

"Wise man," she said, patting the cushion next to her.

* * *

"Okay, so let's hear these ideas you want to run by me," Keith said as he settled into his chair. "You were so close-mouthed on the phone." He looked suspiciously between Veronica and Logan. "Is there something you two need to tell me? That's why you wanted to beat him here? Maybe tell me ahead so if I reacted badly, you'd have some time to calm me down before I shot him?"

Veronica gasped but Logan chuckled. "As far as I know, this is not a shotgun situation." He looked at Veronica. "Assure the man, before I become a casualty."

"No, Dad, nothing like that. Geez." She was glaring again. Logan actually enjoyed that look, as long as it wasn't legitimately directed at him. Even when her actions made him afraid for her safety, her bad ass streak was a turn on. "And you were all for grandkids last time we talked about it. Why would I think you were going to shoot him?"

Logan's mouth fell open before he could do anything about it. _Veronica had talked about them having kids with her dad? And he'd been in favor of it?_ He snapped his jaw shut, then gulped nervously, before the sound of Keith's laughter penetrated his shock-compromised hearing.

"Okay, no big announcements from the two of you then. So? What do you want to talk about?"

"Well, after you left for the day, I got some additional information on Nathan." Logan frowned, not sure why Maggie's ex-boyfriend was their topic of conversation. "It turns out that he is a very enthusiastic biker. Even living in San Francisco. Has a car, which we knew, but barely drives it because he bikes everywhere, and even when he does drive, the bike is always on the bike carrier on his car."

"That is interesting," Keith said, his thoughtful head tip mirroring his daughter's. "That could potentially give him a way to leave the scene."

"Hold on, you two. What scene? What are you talking about?"

"Dad talked to the San Francisco police department today. Turns out that Maggie's death is suspicious and they're looking at Nathan for it." She looked from Logan to Keith, raising her eyebrows as if asking him if he had anything to add, but Keith was silent and she went on. "The problem was figuring out how he got away from the place that he pushed her and her car into the Bay but with this new information, I think that could be established."

"Hang on. The cops say Maggie was murdered?"

Veronica opened her mouth but Keith spoke first. "No. That's not what they said. They said her death was suspicious, and they investigated Nathan, because they always consider significant others, as you well know, and although he doesn't really have an alibi, they cannot establish that he had means."

Logan listened as Keith explained the circumstances around Maggie's death. "Okay, so yeah, it's hard to see that an accident that minor killed her before she went in the water, but how does Nathan's bike fetish fit in?"

"They couldn't see how he got away from the scene," Veronica piped in. "With the bike, he can."

"But what about how he got there?" Logan asked. "Was there a bike rack on her car?"

Veronica looked at Keith. "That's an interesting question. Did they send you pictures of the scene? With the car in them?"

"Yeah, they did, after I talked to the detective, he forwarded me his whole file. I don't remember seeing anything showing a bike rack though." Keith set his plate aside and stood. "Hang on, let me get my computer." He disappeared back toward the bedrooms.

"I know you don't like Nathan but trying to pin a murder on him?" Logan asked after Keith was out of the room. "If the police aren't sure, maybe there's a reason for that."

"And maybe they're just missing the pieces to put it all together," Veronica said, sounding irritated. "They didn't see how he could get from his hotel room to the scene and back. If he had his bike, he could've met her somewhere, and then, who knows what happened. He tries to talk her into getting back together, she tells him no, he gets mad...I don't know. But it does give him the means."

"Where'd you get the news about the bike?" Logan asked, just as Keith came back in holding his laptop.

"All righty, let me get this thing booted up and we'll see if Maggie had a bike rack." Keith sat in his chair again and popped the laptop open. "Most bike racks stick out quite a bit, don't they? I've never had one but I see things on people's cars that I assume are bike racks. As bulky as they look, I would think I would have noticed one in these pictures."

"I don't think it's necessary that one be there," Veronica said. "Couldn't he have shoved his bike in the back seat? If they met somewhere secluded, and they fought, and he killed her, he probably wouldn't be taking a lot of time to fasten his bike to her car before he drove them off to drop her and her car in the Bay. Push her and the bike in the car and get as quickly as you can to the place where you want to dump the car."

"Maybe," Keith answered. He frowned and muttered as he poked at the computer. Logan started to repeat his question about where Veronica learned the news about Nathan's bike when Keith made a triumphant noise. "Ha! You creepy little thing. You just thought you could keep me out." He poked again. "Okay, pictures...open open open. Come on, just open already."

"Pretty sure that it's not going to respond to threats," Veronica teased, standing up and walking to the kitchen. She pulled out another piece of pizza, then glanced at Logan. "Want more?"

"I'm good, thanks."

"Dad?"

"Not 'til I'm done with this," Keith replied. "So, no, I don't see anything on the car that looks like a bike rack." He turned the computer around to face Logan. "Nothing there on the back—" he pointed on the picture "—and nothing on the roof."

"Hmmphf." Veronica moved back next to Logan. "I still say that doesn't have to mean anything." She scrunched up her face, like she was thinking hard, then her eyebrows shot up. "Hey, are there more pictures? Maybe closer views of the car?"

Keith scrolled through the pictures. There were shots of just the back of the car visible in the water, all the way through to it pulled out and the door open. Logan shuddered at the glimpses of the dead woman that he could see as they flipped through. Keith seemed to click faster when Maggie was visible in the photos.

"Wait, stop, go back." Veronica was pointing to the screen. "One more, yeah, stop there." The photo was from the back of the car. There was definitely no rack attached. "There. Do you see it?"

"See what?" Logan asked, trying to not sound frustrated. "It's the back of her car. No bike rack."

"Look at the trunk lid. See the dents?"

Logan leaned forward. "Can you enlarge the picture?"

"Umm, maybe?" Keith replied and Veronica reached for the laptop.

"Let me." She messed around with the mouse and the image got larger. She moved the picture around, then pointed at the screen. "Okay, there. Do you see now?"

Both Logan and Keith moved closer to the screen. "I do see some dents. scratches too. But the paint job is peeling and the trunk lid is rusty so it's not like the car's in stellar shape. So what are you seeing that we're not?" Logan asked.

Veronica huffed and popped another Chrome tab open, then typed rapidly. "The peeling and the rusty bit are because it's San Francisco. The salt air eats the finish."

"I've never had a car do that," Logan said and Veronica laughed loudly.

"Your cars live in garages, and get washed regularly by the car minions to get the salt off the finish. I don't think it happens as much in Southern Californa anyway. I don't know if it's because it's warmer down here or what but when I was at Stanford, there were a lot of cars that looked like they'd been gnawed on by a rust monster." Veronica shook her head, still chuckling, as she turned the computer out toward them again. "Okay, see, look at this."

The screen showed what appeared to be instructions, illustrated with pictures to replace words. The first picture showed the back of a car with a weird contraption tethered to the back.

"Let me guess. A bike rack," said Keith.

"Yes," Veronica answered, scrolling down through the pages. "See, look at this." She pointed at a picture that showed the legs of the rack pressed against the trunk lid and the bumper. "See where the upper bars are against the car trunk. That's right where the dents are on her car."

"Well, they're roughly where those dents are but I don't think that's a smoking gun," Keith said, looking at her skeptically. Logan was silent but he tended to agree with Keith.

"One of my roommates at Columbia biked a lot. Her boyfriend came down one time from upstate New York, where she was from, and took her on a weekend getaway." Veronica set the computer on the coffee table and leaned back into the couch. "They took her bike with them and he was going to rent one when they got wherever they were going. He brought along a bike rack kinda like this one. It was supposedly pretty easy to install but when Margot got back that weekend, she told us that he'd tightened the legs down too much and ended up with little dents in his trunk lid. He did it because he didn't really know how it was supposed to work. I'm guessing that Nathan would know, but if he was in a hurry because he had a dead girlfriend in the car, he might have tightened things down a little more than he intended."

Keith shrugged. "That's not an unreasonable possibility for how those got there but I don't see how you can prove it. Unless he's still got that bike carrier at home."

"I wouldn't," Logan commented. "I would have dumped it somewhere on my way home. It would've been easier to just throw it in the water after the car but that's too easy to find."

"Yeah, I agree," Veronica said, patting him on the knee. "He could've tossed it in somewhere else. Or just dropped it in a dumpster."

"These are interesting theories, and it's very possible that the dents are from a bike rack," Keith said, getting up and heading for the kitchen, "but since they were together for a while, that could've happened any time. I'm not sure this is something the police can really use." He grabbed another slice of pizza and turned back toward them. "So where did this information come from, Veronica? Did you see someone after I left the office? You didn't call Mrs. Tierney, did you? I'm concerned she might mention something to Nathan if you just called her out of the blue."

"I didn't call Mrs. Tierney," Veronica said. She glanced quickly at Logan, then back at Keith. Logan was pretty sure the look he was seeing on her face was guilt.

"Did you call Cole?" he asked, trying to keep his voice non-accusatory. He knew how much she needed answers some times and a phone call wouldn't put her at risk.

"Oh, I wish you wouldn't have done that, Veronica," Keith interjected. "If the SFPD is still investigating him, you might've just warned him."

"Wait. WHAT?" His attempt at staying non-accusatory was gone, blown apart by Keith's words. "The police think Cole killed his mom?" He turned to Veronica. "And you called him and let him know you were looking into it also? What were you thinking?"

"I didn't call anyone," Veronica said. "And I didn't mention anything about the investigation into Maggie's death."

"This is why you wanted to talk to your dad before I got here," Logan said angrily. "You went to see him. After you promised me that you wouldn't."

"I did not," she said indignantly. "He...umm...he came to me."

"He came to the office?" Keith asked. After I left?"

"Well, he wasn't there before you left, was he?" Veronica asked flippantly and Keith's face turned hard.

"Veronica, this is serious. I told you to be careful—"

"And you promised me that you wouldn't see him alone," Logan interrupted.

"Look, both of you, can you give me a chance here? I was careful," she said, looking at Keith before turning toward Logan, "and technically, what I promised was not to go to their house alone. But I understood the spirit of our agreement, and I tried to get rid of him, but he kept asking to come in. He said he needed to talk to me."

"So what?!" Logan yelled, jumping up from the couch. "If he wouldn't go away, call the cops. Or call me or your dad or Wallace or someone. I don't care. Call Weevil if you need to. Or call Dick to come get his psycho kid. Call whoever. But you don't let the person who tried to kill our dog into the office with you alone, especially after you find out that maybe he actually killed his mom too."

"I'm not an idiot, Logan," she yelled back. "I...I took precautions."

"Oh really?" he said. "Like what?"

"I didn't let him get behind me. I kept some distance between us. I—"

"That's good, Veronica," Keith broke in, clearly trying to deescalate the shouting, "but if he'd wanted to overpower you, that wouldn't have stopped him."

"I got out that stupid gun you got me," she said and Logan sucked in a breath. He knew how she felt about the gun. "I kept it on the keyboard tray under my desk, pointed in his direction, in case I needed it. I also had my stun gun. I had it on me when I went to the door, and I put it on the tray next to the gun once I was back at the desk. If he'd tried anything, I could have shocked him or shot him, whichever I wanted." She glared at both of them. "So both of you, get off my back. I held a gun on a fourteen year old boy today. If that's not enough for you two, then I give up trying to satisfy either of you."

"Okay, okay, everyone, take a step back," Keith said, the calming voice in full effect. "Nothing happened, Veronica's safe, so we all need to calm down." He reached for Veronica's hand, wrapping it in both of his. Logan saw her try to tug her hand back but she was unsuccessful and she didn't appear to try again.

"Yes, that's right," she said, her voice still angry. "Nothing happened and I'm safe. Cole did not hurt Pony, and he didn't hurt Maggie. I would bet money that Nathan did both. He killed Maggie, whether it was accidentally or on purpose, because she wouldn't get back with him, and once he heard from the SFPD that they knew her death was suspicious, he tried to deflect suspicion onto Cole and then came down here to see if he could find a way to make him look like someone who might've killed his own mom."

She looked meaningfully at Keith. "What better way than torturing an animal? Isn't that the way some serial killers supposedly get started? I think Nathan stole that sweatshirt when he was at their house, just in case he wanted to plant it somewhere in the future. Then, when things started to heat up in the investigation of Maggie's death, he came back down here to find a way to make Cole look like a bad guy. He lured Pony out of Dick's yard and then he used the sweatshirt to cover her head so she couldn't bite him. We know she hated him. If he'd have grabbed her, she would have bit him for sure. And later, we were supposed to find her drowned in the pipe with the sweatshirt around her, putting the blame directly on Cole. And it worked. With some people at least." She glared at Logan again.

"Doesn't that seem a little involved?" Keith asked. "Stealing clothes before you know what to do with them, then setting up this plot with a dog? That's a lot of back and forth."

"And what would you do to get out of a murder rap?" Veronica asked facetiously. "Because make no mistake, that is what Nathan's doing here. He's shifting the focus from him to Cole in Maggie's death. And Cole doesn't even know there's anything even remotely suspicious about his mom's death. He's just assuming what he's always been told; her death was accidental. No one's told him anything different and, _since he wasn't involved,_ he doesn't realize there's anything else to believe."

Keith settled back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. "You know, if you're right about the sweatshirt, that could explain Pony's response to Cole."

"What do you mean?" Logan asked, dropping back onto the couch next to Veronica.

"Let's say Nathan drops the sweatshirt over her head and grabs her, like Veronica is suggesting. Assuming that he hasn't washed that sweatshirt, it would probably smell like Cole. Dogs are very sensitive to smells. That might actually have calmed her down a little, thinking Cole had her, although I'm not certain about that part. I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't like someone wrapping me up like that, even if it was someone I normally liked. Anyway, whether it was right away, or later, after she started being hurt, she associated the smell of Cole with what was going on. When she encountered him later, that triggered all those reactions to what she went through."

"Yes, exactly," Veronica said. "That makes sense." She turned to Logan. "So can we agree that this suspicion of Cole can stop?"

"No." That obstinate look slid over her face and he held up his hand. "Hold on and listen. I can agree that there are other possibilities here. But nothing's cast in stone yet. You still need to be careful."

"You're just being—"

"No, Veronica, he's right." Keith said, giving the hand he still held a quick shake. "You do need to be careful. But it sounds like you're trying to be. It was smart to get out the gun and the stun gun today. In the end, no, you didn't need them, but that didn't make them a bad precaution. Keep taking those steps, even when you don't really want to, until we're sure what's going on." He looked at Logan. "You hear me, Logan, I said 'we'. That includes you too."

"Thanks."

Keith gave Veronica's hand one more shake before letting it go. "One more thing to think about, Veronica. If you're right about Nathan, and if he isn't sure that his plan to cast doubt on his own guilt is working, he could still escalate. That means you need to be extra careful, especially when you're alone. And I think we need to warn Mac too. Nathan knows they're close."

"Doesn't this seem extreme?" Logan asked. "Not the precautions but the idea that someone would do all these things?"

"Like Veronica said, what would you do to beat a murder rap? If you really had killed someone already, maybe you would do it again if it meant that you got away with everything. Everyone needs to be cautious."

"And what about Cole? And Dick?" Veronica's voice was agitated again. "Are we leaving them out on their own with no information because Logan's still afraid that Cole is channeling his uncle?"

Keith looked at him, startled. "That's what this is about? Cassidy?"

Logan shrugged. "Partially. I just think we'd be stupid to assume that, because he seems like a nice kid, he couldn't do anything bad. I thought Cassidy was a nice kid once too and he turned out to be a mass murderer. That's a mistake I don't want to make again."

"Understandable," Keith answered. "But if Veronica's right, and anything happens to either Dick or Cole because we kept this from them, I'm guessing that both of you will have a hard time getting over that."

"You're right about that," Veronica threw in. "So, you're up to date and you're going to give the new information to the detective. Right?" She stood once more, this time heading into the kitchen and rinsing the dishes off.

"Yes, I already agreed to do that."

"Okay then, I'm going to Dick's." She looked at Logan. "You are welcome to join me, encouraged even. But I am not going to stay away if you won't go. Dad's right. If something bad happens to either of them because we're keeping this from them, it's going to be a problem."

Logan nodded. There was no question that they were both right. No matter what else was going on, if something happened to Dick... "I'll follow you."

* * *

Dick ignored the first knock. Cole was spending the night at Trevor's and no one came to the door looking for him these days. Well, Mac had come over last night, but she only came for Cole, or to make sure that Dick hadn't done anything stupid since Logan wasn't doing that anymore.

The knock came again, and he flipped the door off. Probably a girl looking for Cole. He attracted them like Logan always had. Although Cole was actually nice to them. Logan never had been, except for Lilly and Veronica. It had never mattered. The meaner he got, the more some of them came sniffing around. It was nuts. Although back in high school, Logan wasn't always nice to him either, and Dick always stuck with him anyway, so he probably shouldn't be thinking badly about those desperate chicks. He wasn't any better.

He rocked his head against the back of the couch, longing for a buzz. He'd been fine without the pot since Cole had come to live with him. He'd tapered off while they were checking into the boy's story and once it looked certain, he'd just quit. He didn't need it any more. He had a cool kid and his best friend would be home soon and Mac was hanging around. What else did he need?

Now, he had Cole and that was amazing. He'd never even considered fatherhood before Cole; well, there'd been a couple of scares through the years but he'd always been careful and nothing ever came of them. Of course, the existence of Cole made that untrue, but all in all, that was okay. He wouldn't give up Cole for anything.

He did miss Logan though. It was weird. Years of Logan as his only real friend and he'd resorted to medical marijuana to manage his depression over the shithole that was his life. Then Cole turned up and he didn't need it anymore. But now Logan was gone and he was again feeling the need for a little medicinal pick-me-up. He didn't want to resort to that with Cole in the house though. Even with pre-made edibles, it just didn't seem properly parental. Although maybe he could get some of those little chocolate squares. They packed quite a punch and he could hide them in his nightstand.

His head shot up at noise in the entryway and then Veronica was there, glaring down at him.

"Why didn't you answer the door?!" she asked fiercely. "I was worried!"

"So you broke in?" Dick looked at her in confusion. "You didn't break my lock picking it, did you?"

"She didn't pick it."

Dick jerked in surprise at the voice, shooting a look over his shoulder. Logan stood, barely in the room, twirling a key ring on his finger. "I still have a key."

Dick turned back toward Veronica. He had no desire to deal with Logan's disapproval today. "Who's that? Your muscle?"

She chuckled. "Since when do I need muscle to deal with you?"

He shrugged. She was right. "Okay, so then why did you need in so badly, Ronnie?"

"Where's Cole?" Rather than answering his question, she apparently was here to interrogate him.

"Out," he said, smirking at the exasperated sigh that huffed out of her before she did the unexpected and dropped onto the couch next to him.

"Where's Cole, Dick?" He tipped his head to give her a sideways glance. She looked...like maybe she really was worried.

"He's at Trevor's, O Grand Inquisitor."

Logan barked a laugh and edged further into the room.

"I might like that name, but I'm surprised you know the reference," she said, her tension visibly easing.

"I graduated from college, same as you guys. I did learn some stuff."

She nodded, then smiled approvingly at Logan, who'd finally made it all the way into the room and was now sitting at the table. Dick wondered if she'd dragged him here to force them to reconcile. He hoped not. He was pretty sure he wasn't pathetic enough to go along with Logan only tolerating him because he couldn't say no to his tiny girlfriend.

"Good to know," she said and Dick had to backtrack to remember the last thing he'd said so he'd know what she thought was 'good to know'.

She twisted to the side, moving to face him, one leg pulled up and an arm leaning against the back of the couch. "So how are things here?"

Dick frowned at her. "Just peachy. What's this about, Ronnie?"

"How's Cole?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "Uh uh, no more questions. Tell me why you're here."

"Have you heard from Nathan?"

"Do you ever listen? And no, why would we hear from that guy?" He shook his head at her and looked at Logan. "If you're not the muscle, why are you here? Thought you said you were done with us."

"I don't think that's what I said," Logan said hesitantly.

"That's what I heard." Dick glared at him and was surprised when Logan looked away. Backing down wasn't a usual Logan Echolls trait and Dick wasn't sure how to react. It is were anyone else, he knew he'd go on the offensive, mostly by being offensive, but no matter what else was happening, it didn't feel right to do that to Logan. Veronica took the matter out of his hands when she poked him in the chest.

"We're not here for you two to fight about nonsense. We have news, and you need to hear it." She rubbed her hand against her forehead. "Okay, where to start...I guess focus on oldest events first. My dad was informed by the San Francisco Police Department today that Maggie's accident might not have been accidental."

Dick frowned at her. "What does that mean? Her car went off the road and ended up in the Bay. Do they think she killed herself? Why would she do that?"

"No, that's not what they think. It is possible, but not confirmed, that she might have met with foul play."

Dick startled. He had next to no recollection of Maggie but he was fairly certain she wasn't the type who people wanted to murder. "Why would they think that? And why would the police in San Francisco call your dad?"

"Well, that's kinda my fault, although it's turning out to be a good thing."

Logan snorted. "Good thing you're an unapologetic snoop."

She huffed at him and Dick fought back a smile at their teasing. He might miss that...maybe a little. "I had him try to get the police report on her accident after Nathan turned up and Pony hated him."

Dick narrowed his eyes at her. "You had your dad get a police report because Pony didn't like Nathan. Is that what you just said?"

Logan laughed. "Classic, huh?" Before he even knew what he was doing, Dick laughed with him.

"If I hadn't, we wouldn't know anything," Veronica said indignantly. "Anyway, since the report is still pending because of the question of foul play, they kept track of anyone who ordered the report, just in case it was someone involved in her death. They checked Dad out with the sheriff and then decided to find out why he was investigating the accident."

"Okay, just spill this whole thing. I'm not gonna pull this out of you piece by piece. What is going on?"

Dick wasn't even sure how long it took to get the whole story out of Veronica. Maggie's unusual death. The inability of the SFPD to prove anything against anyone. Nathan's allegations against Cole. And then Veronica's theory about how Nathan might have come back to Neptune secretly and set up the whole thing with Pony, just to implicate Cole and divert suspicion away from him over Maggie's death.

"But this is the most important thing right now," Veronica said. "If Nathan is guilty, and he's trying to make Cole look bad, he might not stop at messing with Pony. Dad thinks we all need to be really aware and careful, so he doesn't succeed in settling Cole up any more. If I'm right, and he really is responsible for Maggie's death, he could be getting pretty desperate by now."

"You said Cole's at Trevor's?" Logan asked. "You're sure he's safe there?"

Dick looked at him with surprise. He hadn't expected Logan to be concerned about Cole. He noticed Veronica looking equally surprised.

"Yeah, he should be fine. Even if Nathan's skulking around, he's not gonna try anything with a house full of people. But what about Mac? Does she know?" Dick turned to Veronica. "Nathan's been here and he knows Cole's close to her, just like he's close to you. You guys would be obvious targets if he's trying to do things that would make Cole look like a homicidal nutcase."

Logan spoke up again. "We let her know to stay in tonight. We're going over to talk to her after we're done here."

"Nuh uh," Dick said and pulled out his phone. He scrolled through his recent calls, then pressed a name. "Mac, hey, what are you doing?"

 _"Dishes. I just had dinner and I think Veronica and Logan are coming over in a while. I'm not sure; she was weird on the phone."_

Dick chuckled, even though he knew why she'd been weird. "Is she any other way?"

 _"Some days are weirder than others. So what can I do for you?"_ He could hear water running in the background.

"Umm, well, you can pack an overnight bag." He suddenly became uncomfortably aware of both Logan and Veronica staring at him and he stood up and walked toward the kitchen. He knew they were still watching him but he couldn't see them anymore so the weight of their eyes seemed less troubling.

 _"And why, pray tell, would I want to do that?"_

"You're spending the night here. I'll be over to get you in pretty soon. Until then, just stay in your apartment."

 _"This is a little forward, even for you, Dick. Not even buying me dinner first?"_

He knew she was teasing him but her words shot through him like fire. The thoughts her comment brought to mind were wholly inappropriate given the current circumstances but he couldn't help himself. He sighed and got back to the conversation. "It's too late to get you dinner since you said you just had it."

 _"Oh bummer. Maybe dessert then?"_ The teasing tone left her voice. _"So what's this about, Dick?"_

"We'll all be there soon and we'll tell you then. See ya." He ended the call and walked back into the great room. "Okay, that's handled. You explain and I'll bring her home with me."

Veronica looked at him skeptically. "She can come home with us, if necessary. There's no reason to think that Nathan's hiding behind a bush in front of Mac's or anywhere in Neptune at all."

"Unless you know he's in San Francisco, we're doing this," Dick said. "If all of this is true, this is going to be hard enough on Cole as it is. If something happened to one of you, it would kill him." He glanced at Logan, who was looking at him strangely. "What, dude?"

"Nothing."

"If you feel that strongly about it, she can still come home with us. You don't have to go anywhere." Veronica's words sounds reassuring but she stood as she said them, as if Dick's urgency was affecting her.

"And subject her to the two of you alone at night? Remember, I've been subjected already. Mac's too innocent for that. Cole's gone; she can have his room."

Logan laughed and stood, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. Veronica scoffed at Dick.

"I think you may underestimate Mac. But, we'll leave it up to her where she spends the night." She shook her head and headed for the door. Her hand was on the doorknob when she glanced back at him.

"Just remember, if she does to come here tonight, you better have clean sheets. No one should have to sleep after a teen aged boy without first changing the sheets."


	21. Chapter 21

Veronica glanced up as Mac entered her office, and held one hand to her lips in a shushing gesture while the other held the phone to her ear.

"Okay, well, thank you so much for your time. Once we make a decision, we'll get back to you."

Veronica thumped her head against her desk as she hung up the phone. "I now know more about Viagra then I ever, ever wanted to know."

"What?!" Mac sputtered.

"I was just trying to see if Nathan was at work. I got his phone numbers off the police report and used our blocked number line to call his work. He's not there; he's been out for the last few days and they don't expect him back until next week at the earliest."

She raised her head to smile grimly at Mac. "And he was out a couple days last week and he's called out pretty regularly in the last month or two. The woman taking his calls, Teresa, is actually worried about him. She's afraid he might be sick since he's been off work so much lately." She raised her eyebrows and said in a meaningful voice, "He hasn't missed this much time since his fiancée was killed several months ago in a tragic accident."

Mac sat in the chair opposite her. "How do you do that?"

Veronica cocked her head. "Do what?"

"Get people to spill their guts to you? You weren't even in person this time."

"It's a gift," Veronica said with a shrug.

Mac shook her head. "Well, that's certainly interesting that they thought he was engaged since his 'fiancée's' son thought they'd broken up. And with him taking all that time off, it's possible that he could have been down here when Pony got hurt. But come on, you gotta tell me. What is this about Viagra?"

Veronica laughed and sat back. "I needed an excuse to be calling. Nathan's a pharmaceutical rep. That was the only drug name I could think of when Teresa asked what medications Nathan had been trying to sell my medical practice."

Mac laughed. "I don't even want to know why you had Viagra on your mind. I won't be able to look at Logan next time I see him."

"Oh no, no, no, he definitely doesn't need—"

"Lalalalala, I'm not listening," Mac teased, her hands over her ears. Veronica could feel her face burning bright red.

"It's not like that," she said, standing so she could stretch across the desk and pull Mac's arm down. Mac moved her hands and leaned back, head thrown back as she laughed at Veronica's discomfort.

"You're in an awfully good mood this morning, especially for someone who got rousted out of their home last night." Veronica looked at her suspiciously. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing. It's just hilarious to watch you lose your composure. It doesn't happen that often." Mac sat forward again, the grin falling off her face. "So, it looks like Nathan could actually be here in town. Do you have a cell number too? Maybe we can get him to answer and see if we can get a location off the signal."

"I do have his cell and I was waiting for you just for that purpose. Plus, if he'd picked up the phone when I called him at work in San Francisco—"

"Then the whereabouts of his cell become unimportant, yeah, yeah, I get it." She stood and turned toward the door. "Let me get everything booted up and then we'll call."

"You're late this morning," Veronica said. "How'd it go at Dick's last night?"

Mac walked out of the office and Veronica jumped up to follow her.

"Dick made breakfast, that's why I'm a little late."

"Made breakfast? What did he make? Dry Cheerios since you wouldn't drink his cow's milk?"

"No, actually, he's drinking cashew milk these days, and he made these amazing banana pancakes. He also served some yummy vegan sausage and fresh-squeezed OJ. So, nyeh." She stuck out her tongue at Veronica.

"He has vegan food in the house? And he made you pancakes? Logan doesn't make me pancakes." She leaned against Mac's desk, trying to get a good view of her friend's face but she was looking down as she tucked her bag away and powered on her multitude of computers. "Where did you sleep last night?"

"Umm, at Dick's. Remember? The three of you swooped in last night and ordered me out of my house." She plunked down in her chair and grinned cheekily at Veronica. "That Viagra must've really worked last night if you've forgotten already."

"Logan does not—" She stopped and took a deep breath. "You're deflecting. Why?"

"It's not deflecting, it's having fun at your expense."

"So where did you sleep?"

"Aaattt...Diiiick's," Mac said in a slow, exaggerated voice. "And, if you must know, I fell asleep on the couch."

"You were supposed to take Cole's room."

"Yeah, that was the plan but I slept on the couch instead. It's no big deal." She grabbed her mouse and began to click on various icons. "Do you have Nathan's cell number? Let's see if we can find him."

The cell phone rang for nearly a minute before the voicemail clicked in.

 _"This is Nathan Wills with Bayview Pharmaceutical. Please leave a message and I'll return your call as soon as possible."_

Veronica ended the call. "Voicemail won't help you figure out the phone location, will it?" Mac shook her head and began to tap on her keyboard. "That was a work message. I wonder if it's a specific work phone or if he uses his personal phone for work."

Mac looked up from her screen. "Was his address in the police report too? Or just the phone numbers?"

"The address was there. Dad saved the police report in the shared drive. You can pull it out of there." Veronica watched Mac type rapidly, then look at a different screen.

"Okay, the cell you called is in Nathan's name, not the pharmaceutical company. And it's at his San Francisco apartment."

Veronica looked at her, surprised. "How do you know those things?"

"I have magic fingers," Mac said smugly, then shrugged. "No big, really, I got into his cell phone account and I tapped into 'Find my Phone'. If his phone's in San Francisco, it seems like he probably is too, don't ya think?"

Veronica looked at her curiously. "You wonder how I talk people out of information? I wonder how you did that so quickly. Your fingers may be magic but I would think that accessing his cell phone account would take a little more time than that."

Mac turned pink and wrinkled her nose. "I may have hacked him previously. When we were first wondering about him. So today might simply have been about returning to a previously opened door."

Veronica laughed. "Everyone made fun of me about wanting to check him out and you were doing it too." Mac gave her that 'who me?' look—wide eyes, raised eyebrows, close-mouthed smile, and tilted head—that never failed to win people over and Veronica shook her head. "I get all the harassment and you just cutesy your way through as you take down moguls and governments." Mac burst into laughter.

"You're a fine one to talk about doing cutesy to get your way. You forget, I've been watching you operate for a long time. I think it's a safe bet that some of my techniques were learned at your knee." She turned back to her keyboard, still chuckling.

Veronica leaned up against the desk. "Back to business then. It does seem like, if the phone's showing up in his apartment, that he is there but it could be that that's just want he wants us to think. If I were trying to get people to think I was one place, when I was really in another, I'd probably leave my traceable phone turned on, and plugged in so the battery doesn't die, in the place I wanted everyone to think I was. As long as no one actually goes to his place and sees that he is not with the phone, most people are going to assume that he was there too. These days, most people don't go too far without their cell."

"What you would do is not necessarily what someone else would do," Mac pointed out. "You could be a criminal mastermind if you wanted. What do we know about Nathan? Nothing really, except he's a bike-riding drug pusher. That isn't what I'd call a recipe for bad guy success."

Veronica snorted at Mac's description. "You're right that we don't know enough about him. Dad's background check didn't show anything criminal but maybe there was something else that didn't matter before but now might help us figure out if Nathan's behind all this stuff to throw the police off his trail." She went to Keith's closed office door and rapped gently. He'd been locked in his office since she'd arrived earlier that morning.

"Hey, Dad?"

Keith's muffled voice drifted through the door. "Yeah? You can come in."

She opened the door and stepped inside. "What kind of top secret stuff is going on in here?" she asked.

He chuckled at her. "Nothing too top secret. I closed the door before calling the detective in San Francisco and never bothered to get up and open the door when we were done."

"Oh, just laziness, got it. So, while you've been isolating yourself, we have figured out that Nathan is not at work but his cell phone is at his apartment in San Francisco. So we have mixed messages as to whether or not he could be in Neptune right now or not."

"Well, I may be able to help with that. The detective is going to try to make contact with Nathan today. He was very interested in the news about Nathan's biking hobby. He said he'd call me later, after he'd had a chance to reach out to him."

"Maybe you can call him back to let him know that Nathan's cell is at his apartment," she suggested.

"Hold up; that's a negative, Ghostrider," Mac yelled from her desk before appearing in the doorway. "I would appreciate it if you would refrain from reporting to the police department that I hacked into his phone records and the locater application. That would be bad."

Veronica chuckled. "How will everyone know how awesome you are if you won't let us tell?"

"I'll be fine, thanks."

Keith rolled his eyes. "We're not telling them anything like that. If they think it's warranted, they'll be able to gather that same information legally. In the meantime, you two need to stay on guard, got it?"

"Aye aye, captain," Veronica said. Mac just laughed and nodded before disappearing back to the front of the office. "All right. I'm going to go try to work on something else for now. Let me know if you hear anything."

* * *

Dick peeked into Cole's room and shook his head. His son had come home from Trevor's an hour before, grunted hello, and then disappeared into his room. He was now sprawled, still fully dressed, across the bed, mouth open as he snored.

"Tough night of video games, I guess," he said before backing away from the room. He went into the kitchen to clean up after the breakfast he'd made for Mac. He grinned at the recollection of her appreciation for a homemade, vegan-friendly breakfast. He'd definitely scored points with her this morning.

Last night though...he wasn't as sure if he'd made the right choices then. Turning a woman down might not be the best way to win her over. It was a new experience, saying no, so he wasn't sure. He wished he could call Logan for advice, but even though things had been less tense between them the night before, he didn't feel like they were back to the point where he could confide anything. Especially about Ronnie's best girlfriend.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he grabbed it, hoping it might be the woman in question. No such luck. He semi-recognized the name of one of Cole's friend's mothers, and pressed 'accept' half-heartedly.

"Hello?"

 _"Umm, Dick, hi, I hope you remember me, I'm Tamara Bryce. My daughter, Callie, is friends with Cole. We joined you at your house for a barbecue a few weeks ago."_

The woman's voice sounded trembly. Dick had a vague recollection of an attractive woman who had made him think of Jackie Cook. _Now that chick had been smokin' hot._ "Oh, sure, Tamara. What can I do for you?"

 _"I'm wondering if Callie might be at your house? She was supposed to be spending the night with her friend, Jillian, but it's turning out that she didn't actually stay there, and Jillian said she was out with Cole last night."_

Dick frowned, confused by what he was hearing. "Cole spent the night at his friend Trevor's last night. I was under the impression they were there all night but they might have gone out and I just hadn't heard about it yet. Cole's here now, but Callie isn't. Let me check with him and see when he saw her last. I'll call you right back. He's asleep and it can take a while to wake him up sometimes."

 _"I would appreciate it, Dick. I'll be waiting for your call."_ The line went dead and Dick stared at the phone in his hand for a moment before heading back to Cole's room.

"Cole, dude, wake up." He bumped the boy's foot, then banged into the mattress, and when none of that produced a response, shook Cole's shoulder. "Come on, Cole, wake up."

Cole grumbled, any words that he might have been trying to say completely unintelligible, than he rolled over and opened his eyes.

"Dad? What's going on? I'm trying to sleep."

"Cole, were you at Trevor's all night? Or did you guys go out for a while?" Dick watched the befuddled haze clear from Cole's eyes at that question and knew what the answer would be.

"Uhhh, well, yeah. We ended up going to the movies. Saw the new Pirates movie."

"Didn't you guys go to that last week?"

Guilt flashed across Cole's face and Dick felt an urge to laugh that he suppressed. He was sure he'd been a better liar at this age. Of course, no one ever questioned his whereabouts when he was Cole's age so maybe it wasn't that he was a better liar, it was just that he really hadn't had to lie at all.

"Yeah, we liked it so much that we decided to go again."

"Uh huh." Dick sat down on the bed. "How'd you get to the movies?"

"Some friends picked us up."

"Anyone I know?" Dick asked casually.

"Well...yeah...maybe. Umm—"

"Maybe Callie and her friend, Jillian?"

Cole jerked in surprise. "How'd you know?"

"And did you actually go to the movies? Or did you go somewhere else instead? Maybe a party?"

"We didn't go to a party." Cole actually sounded indignant at the accusation. "And no one drank or anything."

"But no movies either. Right?" He looked steadily at Cole, eyebrows raised.

"Right." Cole sighed. "We went to the beach."

"And there was no drinking? Or anything else?"

"We goofed off, played some games, but none with any alcohol." He raised his hand like he was taking an oath. "I swear, Dad. We did not drink."

"Sex?"

"No!"

"I'm not judging if you do. Pretty sure lightning would strike me if I did. I just want to make sure that you're safe and anyone you're with is safe. Do you understand?"

Cole sighed again. "Yeah, I do. It's still kinda awkward to talk about with your dad."

"I wouldn't know. Big Dick wasn't really into this kinda conversation."

"No offense," Cole said hesitantly, "I mean, I haven't even met him yet, but it seems like Big Dick kinda sucks."

Laughter exploded from Dick. "No offense taken. And good call."

"So why are you asking what we did? Did someone see us and tell you?"

Dick sobered, back on track. "Oh yeah. So the four of you went to the beach. Then what?"

Cole frowned. "What is this about?"

"I'm asking about your night. Just tell me what happened."

"Callie dropped us off at Trevor's and then she and Jillian went back to J's house."

"Is that what happened or is that the story you all agreed on?" Dick asked. He wanted to believe that Cole was telling him the truth, even though it wouldn't help Callie's mom figure out where she'd run off to, but when the guilty look flashed across Cole's face again, he knew he was going to be disappointed.

Cole rolled over and sat up next to Dick. "Okay, we went to the beach, and then Callie took us home. But then..." He fell silent and Dick waited, hoping that he would continue his story on his own. His pause was long enough that Dick was ready to prod him when suddenly Cole spoke again in a rush.

"Callie went home with Jillian and we texted for a while and then she snuck out of Jillian's and came back to Trevor's and I snuck out of there and we went back to the beach."

Dick sat for a moment, absorbing the information. "Are you dating Callie? Since she's not only driving, but is able to drive with all of you in the car, she's gotta be like seventeen. You're only fourteen, dude."

"She's not. She's sixteen. Her mom and dad thought she was just driving to Jillian's." Dick sighed and scratched his head.

"Again, I'm not judging to avoid the lightning strikes, but that's taking a big chance with her driver's license. She's got limited driving hours and for the first year, you're only supposed to drive with other minors in the car if you also have an adult with you too."

Cole shrugged. "She said it was okay."

"It's not. But back to the original question. Are you guys dating?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"And you're sticking by the no sex claim from earlier? Even though now you're telling me that you both snuck out of the houses you were supposed to be staying at and went back to the beach alone."

"Yes," Cole said adamantly. "No sex. We...kinda...made out some. But..."

"Okay, stop." Dick closed his eyes and held up his hand. "This isn't actually the most important part right now. When did you leave the beach?"

"Well, we left the beach...I don't know...maybe about 1:30 AM."

"Because it got too cold. And then you moved to the car. I know the routine. When did Callie take you back to Trevor's?"

Cole blushed. "We fell asleep. It was starting to get light when we woke up and realized how late...er, early, it had gotten. It was 5:39 AM when I climbed back into Trevor's room. I saw his clock glowing."

"And where was Callie going after that?"

"Back to Jillian's." He looked at Dick. "She got caught sneaking back in, right? That's why all the questions?"

"No, she did not get caught sneaking back in. She didn't get back to Jillian's and she didn't get home. Her mom is looking for her and wanted to know if you knew where she was because Jillian said she was with you."

"She didn't get back?" Cole jumped to his feet. "Did she have an accident? Oh no, it was so late, maybe she fell asleep driving?"

"I don't know." Dick stood and put his arm around Cole's shoulders. The boy was shaking and Dick hoped that he was controlling his own trembling so he was at least somewhat comforting. "I'm going to call Callie's mom back and let her know when you saw her last and see if there's anything we can do to help them find her. Why don't you get cleaned up so we can go over there when I'm done with my calls."

Cole turned and hugged Dick tightly. "Oh man, she's gotta be all right. If something happens to her, it's my fault."

"It sounds like you both made bad decisions last night. Let's just see what we can do to make sure Callie's safe and then...well, I've never grounded anyone before, or actually even been grounded, but I suspect that's where this is going to end up."

"It's cool, as long as we find her and she's fine."

* * *

Veronica's cell buzzed and she looked down to see Dick's name before she pressed 'accept'.

"What's up, Dick?"

 _"I could be on the wrong track, but I think we've got a problem."_

"Did Nathan show up at your house?" Veronica asked. She got up and moved around her desk, headed for her dad's office.

 _"No, but Cole was not at Trevor's much of last night. Do you remember Callie? The girl who works at Amy's?"_

Veronica halted in her doorway. Mac looked up at her, brow furrowed in concern. "Yeah, sure, we took her home that night you guys took me for ice cream, before Logan went out on the short cruise. What about her?"

 _"Cole and Trevor went to the movies with Callie and a friend of hers last night...only they didn't go to the movies. They went to the beach. And then they all went back to the place they were supposed to be spending the night only Callie and Cole both snuck back out and went back to the beach. They fell asleep in the car and it was_ _around 5:30 this morning_ _when Callie dropped Cole back off at Trevor's. He thought she went back to her friend's, but she never showed up and she didn't go home. No one knows where she is."_

Veronica sagged against the wall. They'd thought Cole would be fine at Trevor's, but who could guess what a bunch of teenagers would decide to do. Well, she _could_ actually guess; she'd been part of such a group once upon a time. And now...a girl was missing and Cole was the last to see her.

"Has anyone from the sheriff's office been by the house?"

 _"No. I only found out because her mom called to see if we knew where she is. After I talked to Cole, I called her back and told her what he told me. Cole and I are headed over to their house now. He's really upset that no one knows where she is, but he still doesn't know—"_ Dick's voice lowered to a whisper _"—about Nathan. Or Maggie."_

"Do you think it's a good idea to go over to their house, Dick?" she asked, walking toward her dad's office again. She heard Mac following her and put Dick's call onto the speakerphone. "If something's happened to her beyond just a straight-forward car accident, Cole's probably going to fall under suspicion. Hell, given the situation with Maggie's death, even a car accident could end up looking bad for him." She'd reached Keith's office and stood just inside the door as she spoke to Dick. She saw her dad look up from whatever he was working on to listen, a look of alarm growing on his face. "Has she called the police yet?"

 _"She did but right now, it's a teenager, with a car, and nothing to show this is anything beyond a runaway. She doesn't qualify for an Amber alert. The deputy she talked to said that it's too soon to do anything. I told her we'd come over and help her start searching since the cops won't help."_

Keith spoke loudly and Veronica stepped nearer to the desk, laying the phone in front of him. "Dick, it's Keith Mars. What's the address of this girl's home? We'll meet you guys over there. You haven't told Cole about the potential for foul play in his mother's death?"

 _"No sir. I'm not sure what to tell him yet."_

"All right, I'll be there shortly and I'll help you when I get there."

 _"I'll text the address to Ronnie right now. Thanks, Mr. Mars. We'll see you in a few."_ The call disconnected and Keith leaned down toward his lower desk drawers. Veronica heard a familiar beeping so when he straightened up, his pistol and shoulder holster in his hand, Veronica was not surprised, but, judging by her gasp, Mac was.

"You need a gun?" she asked incredulously.

"There's one of three things happening here," Keith said, as he popped out the magazine, checked the chamber, and quickly inspected the gun. "One, Nathan's either kidnapped or killed this girl and is out there somewhere needing to be found. Two, Cole's stashed her somewhere, alive or dead is anyone's guess right now, and we need to figure that out. Or three, she's either run away or had an accident. If we figure out where she is, two out of three of those scenarios go better for me if I'm armed."

He glanced up at Veronica as he shrugged on his shoulder holster. "I would suggest that you take this seriously and arm yourself also. If this is the worst case scenario, we're potentially dealing with someone who's killed two people."

She drew in a deep breath and nodded. "Okay." She looked over her shoulder at Mac. "Do you think Mac should stay here? Or come with us?"

"On the assumption that this is Nathan, I'm leaning toward not leaving her here alone," Keith said, and Mac's eyes widened.

"Yes, please," she said. Veronica could hear that she was trying to sound teasing, but ending up sounding terrified instead. "And I'd like to be there for Dick. If it's not Nathan...if Cole is involved, even if it's not Cole but they suspect him, he's gonna need some support."

"It's not Cole," Veronica said as she hurried into her office. "But that doesn't mean that he won't be a suspect. Dad, will you call your SFPD pal and let him know it's imperative that we figure out where Nathan is."

"Yep, part of the plan." Keith appeared in her doorway, jacket now covering the holster, and nodded as she opened her gun safe. "I think two cars will be best. We can cover more ground if necessary. I'll drive myself; you two stay together."

Veronica huffed as she pulled out the hated gun. "Stop worrying, Dad, I'll be armed." She checked the chamber and the magazine before placing the gun on the desk and reaching back into the drawer.

"All right. I'm leaving then. I'll call the detective. You call Logan. I told him we'd keep him in the loop."

"I won't even be able to reach him," Veronica said. "His phone's off during work hours."

"I don't care. Leave him a message." Her father looked at her sternly and she nodded her acquiescence. "All right, thank you. I'll see you two shortly. Be careful."

"You too."

* * *

Keith smiled encouragingly at Mac and stepped out of the office. She noticed that he locked the door behind him. She didn't usually get involved in this side of things and she wasn't sure how to feel. She powered down her computers and took her laptop off its docking station and dropped it into her bag. She was definitely going to want to have access to the internet while they tried to figure out where Callie could be.

She heard Veronica leave a message on Logan's voice mail as she looked around her desk to make sure she had everything she might need. Satisfied that she'd thought of everything, she walked into Veronica's office. She was surprised to find her friend half-naked, standing beside her desk in her jeans and a sports bra, a wad of shiny black cloth in her hands.

"I'm so sorry," she cried, turning away. "I didn't mean to bust in on you getting dressed."

"It's no problem. I needed to put on my conceal tank." Mac looked back and Veronica was pulling on a black tank top.

"Your what?" Mac asked. Veronica finished straightening the tank, then picked up her handgun from the desktop and tucked it into a discreet pocket under her arm.

"Dad and Logan freaked when I just put the stupid gun in my messenger bag with my taser. So Logan got me a couple of these." She plucked at the skintight material over her stomach. "Personally, I think it's more about how it looks on for him. He called me his tiny Lara Croft."

Mac laughed. "Don't you need holsters strapped to your legs too?"

"You don't think he didn't suggest that?" Veronica said as she put a loose-fitting button-up shirt on over the tank top. "I wish my taser fit in the holster but it's too bulky. So I still just toss it in my bag." She reached into her bag and held up her stun gun. "Mr. Sparky. Ready for business." She dropped her favored weapon back into the bag.

"Well, I certainly feel safe," Mac said, grinning.

"Just stay behind me, little lady," Veronica drawled out in what Mac could only assume was her John Wayne voice. "I'll protect you from all them there varmints and scoundrels."

Mac's laughter turned into a snort. "My hero."

Veronica nodded at her seriously. "You know it."

"So are you ready?" Mac asked. "I think I've got everything I need to do technical support. Are you all suited up for action heroine?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Let's just hope that this whole thing is a misunderstanding and Callie spent the night at a different friend's house."

"Do you think that could happen?" Mac asked, surprised by the idea.

Veronica sighed and shook her head. "I doubt it. But it never hurts to hope."


	22. Chapter 22

_Sad news yesterday about the Felix Toombs actor, Brad Bufanda. May he find a peaceful rest._

* * *

Veronica pulled up to Callie's house and saw her dad's sedan parked across the street with a Balboa County Sheriff's car in front of him. She quickly turned in behind Dick's SUV and parked.

"I thought it was too soon for the cops," Mac said.

"I bet Dad called his old buddy, Sheriff Marcia, and convinced her to either come herself or send someone. She's trying to remake the department's image; it'll be good for them if she can say that early intervention saved the day." Veronica grabbed her bag and stepped out of the car, patting under her arm gingerly.

"This thing is a pain in the ass," she said as she moved around the car to the sidewalk where she stood next to Mac. "I wish I wouldn't have let Dad talk me into a gun."

"You'll be happy to have it if things get hairy," Mac said as they walked up to the front door.

"Maybe," Veronica said dubiously. "You don't know until the time comes." Her mind wandered to the roof of the Neptune Grand, and the one time she'd actually considered using a gun on another person. Even with everything that Cassidy had done, she was still glad Logan had convinced her not to.

She and Mac made their way to the front door and knocked. Veronica was surprised when the door was answered by Norris Clayton.

"This is unexpected," she said. "Are you leaving law enforcement to butle?"

Norris gave her a subdued smile. "The sheriff's talking to the parents," he answered. "Your dad said it was probably you guys." He stepped aside and ushered them in. Veronica saw Sheriff Langdon in the living room with Callie's mom and dad.

"Where is my dad?"

"He's with the Casablancases in the kitchen. The kid is super upset. I'm not sure what they're telling him. I mean, it's way too early to be that concerned about this girl."

"I know what he's upset about," Veronica said, "and it's not too early to be worried about Callie. Believe me. Where's the kitchen?"

Norris gestured toward a wide arch. "Easiest way is through the dining room there." Veronica started in that direction.

"Hey, Veronica, I've got a thought," Mac said, bringing Veronica to a standstill. "I'm gonna go outside and take a look around."

Veronica frowned. "Norris, please go with Mac."

"I'll be—" Mac began.

"Fine, yes, you will be fine. Because you're not going out there alone. Deputy Clayton will accompany you."

Mac shook her head but Norris smiled. "Happy to."

"Thanks," Veronica said, and continued to the kitchen. She stopped in the doorway, another arch, but on a smaller scale, and watched the scene in front of her with dismay. Keith, Dick, and Cole were all seated at the kitchen table, Keith and Dick both looking at Cole, and the boy slumped over the table, his head hidden in his crossed arms, his body shaking as he cried. Keith noticed her in the doorway and gestured her toward them. She walked to them hesitantly and stopped behind Cole, unsure what to do. Her dad nodded at her and she laid her hand on Cole's back.

"Cole?" she said gently, rubbing between his shoulders. He looked up at her, his face wet and splotchy.

"I told you he was a creep," he said in a strained voice.

"You did," she agreed softly. "We just didn't realize how much of a creep he really was."

"And now he's got Callie."

"We don't know that yet. You don't have to leap to the worst possible conclusion." Keith vacated his chair and Veronica sat down, pulling it up next to Cole.

"That's not the worst conclusion. The worst one is he's killed her already. Because of me." Tears started to fall down his cheeks again.

"No, not because of you. Everything he's done lately has been to cover up for what he did to your mom. That is not your fault."

"He probably killed her because of me too," he said angrily. "If it wasn't for me, she'd have probably married him and they could have had their own kid, and everything would be fine."

"No," Dick said. "Don't start with that. Your mom loved you. That's why she wanted you to know who she was and why she wanted you with her. She didn't have to, you were being well taken care of by your grandparents. She wanted you, Cole. Don't ever doubt that."

"And it got her killed."

"No," Veronica said, deliberately making her tone harsh. "Stop it. You aren't helping Callie feeling sorry for yourself."

Cole looked at her, startled. "I'm not—"

"Yes, you are, and you've got some cause. But let's save it for later, 'til Callie's home, safe and sound." She smiled at him, her eyes narrow. "But now, we've got work to do. Got it?" Cole nodded slowly and she gave him a quick, single nod back.

"Good."

"Veronica," Keith interrupted, "we need to talk."

She looked up at him, now standing near the doorway. He jerked his head toward the dining room, then stepped through the arch and disappeared.

"Okay then," she said, looking at Cole again, "I'll be back." She stood up and glanced at Dick. "Come do your dad thing."

Dick smiled at her as he rose and moved to her chair. "Thanks, Ronnie."

Veronica followed her dad into the dining room. "What's up?"

Keith spoke in a low voice. "The San Francisco police are pretty sure that Nathan is not in his apartment but they don't have any justification to go in and find out for sure."

"Yeah, I didn't think so. Even with Callie missing, it's not enough to get a warrant." She sighed in frustration. "You believe that Cole didn't do this, don't you?"

"He's very convincing but unless we can find Nathan down here, Cole is probably going to end up the prime suspect in Callie's disappearance and that is going to put more attention on him in his mom's death." Keith shrugged. "The thing with Pony doesn't help either. And the family history with Cassidy won't matter in any actual legal proceedings, but it will sure hurt him in the court of public opinion. Throw in Big Dick's crimes against humanity and Cole will end up making headlines on Yahoo News."

"I can see it now. 'The Casablancas Legacy: Swindlers, bombers, murderers. A third generation makes its mark.' News at eleven." She pulled out a chair and sat down heavily. "We've gotta figure this out."

"Veronica!" Mac burst into the room, Norris right behind her. "We might have an idea."

"Let's hear it."

"I noticed a camera as part of the security system right at the front door here. Norris and I looked around the house and the neighbors' houses; there are cameras at strategic locations on most of these houses."

"But she wasn't here..."

"But what if there's cameras at Trevor's? And at Jillian's? We need to go check."

"That's not a bad idea," Keith said. "I'm sure the sheriff's office will be able to get access to the footage. The homeowners with cameras facing the right direction shouldn't have any objections to allowing the release."

"Okay, Norris, do you think the sheriff will mind if you go with my dad to Jillian's house to canvass for cameras and the security company names? Mac and I will take Cole and Dick to Trevor's; Cole will be able to show us what path he took from Trevor's room to Callie's car and back again so we know exactly which cameras' footage we need. He won't really know how she got in and out of the house at Jillian's so you guys will have to get everything."

"Do you really think you should take Cole out to the possible scene of the crime, Veronica?" Keith asked quietly. "I mean—"

"I know what you mean, but with Dick and Mac along with us, I don't think there's any real risk, even if Cole was the bad guy. Which he isn't."

He shook his head. "Never let it be said that you weren't persistent."

"Not much risk of that," Mac said with a grin. "Now come on. Let's go."

* * *

"Okay, Trevor's house is on the next street on the right."

Veronica nodded and slowed to make the corner. She turned onto a narrow street, lined with mid-sized homes. Fairly modest for much of Neptune but probably considered upper-middle class in a normal town. She glanced in her rear-view mirror, her eyes narrowing at the sight of Mac and Dick in the backseat, heads close together as they whispered.

"Mac?" she called, her suspicions growing as she watched both Mac and Dick jerk away from each other. "Do your parents live near here?"

"Not really. They're a couple miles away, on the other side of the mall."

"It's that house right there," Cole interrupted, pointing at a green single-story on the other side of the street. Veronica flipped a u-turn and pulled up in front of the house.

"Hmm. I've been in this neighborhood before; I just don't remember who lived here. It seems so familiar. Probably someone in grade school. You remember how that was; your parents drive you everywhere so you don't know how to get to someone's house, you just know where you are when you get there."

"It's even worse from the back of a limo," Dick answered.

Veronica scowled at him. "Poor baby."

"Come on, you guys," Cole said in an irritated voice. "Argue later. We need to find Callie." He opened his door and sprinted up the front walk.

"He's right," Veronica said. "Sorry."

"No prob, I started it," Dick said. "Thanks for helping us, Veronica."

Veronica nodded at him in the rear-view mirror, then jumped out of the car. She spotted a camera pointed at the front door and walked around the porch to the side of the house, keeping an eye out for more cameras. She saw another at the corner of the house, pointing toward the gate to the backyard and then Cole and Trevor joined her.

"There's another camera at the back door and on the other side of the house that shows the side yard," Trevor announced. "Plus one over the driveway. We can look at the video from an app on the computers."

"Can you rewind and look at earlier in the day or do you have to call the monitoring service for that?" Veronica asked.

"We can do it ourselves," Trevor answered. "Come on, I can get into the app on my laptop."

"Hang on. How did you get out of the house, Cole? Show me your path." She wanted to see which cameras she should expect would show him based on how he'd sneaked out of the house.

Cole went to the gate and opened it into the back yard. "Trevor's room is right here—" he pointed to the front corner of the house they were next to "—and the window's right on the other side of the fence." He held the gate for Veronica, pointing toward the window.

"The camera at the back of the house shows the window," Trevor said, "and the front corner camera shows the gate."

"Did you know that when you sneaked out?" Veronica asked Cole.

"Trevor said his folks don't watch it regularly, only if they suspect something happened."

"They watched all the cameras all the way through when they went to Vegas one weekend and left my sister in charge," Trevor said woefully. "That was when we first realized the cameras really did anything." He sighed dramatically. "We were on restriction for a month."

Veronica snorted and shook her head. _Stupid kids._ "Okay, well, then, let's go in and take a look at the footage." She turned around and headed for the front door, but Mac grabbed her arm and pulled her aside. Cole and Trevor continued into the house.

"We're going to look around at the neighbors and see if there are other cameras," Mac said, nodding her head to include Dick. "Film of Cole going in and out of this house isn't going to help us find Callie. We need to look for cars or other people when she dropped Cole off."

"Good idea. Jot down addresses and alarm company names if any of the houses have those 'protected by' signs," Veronica suggested.

Mac held up a small notebook. "Already on it. I've gotten in to several of the more common alarm companies used by Neptune homeowners so we might not need to wait for the sheriff to get this footage through official channels."

"Awesome. I'm going in with the boys; you guys hurry back." Veronica hurried up the stairs and into the house. She followed the voices down the hall to what appeared to be a home office. Trevor and Cole were sitting in front of a computer.

"You went back too far," Cole said in an aggravated voice. "We only need to go back to last night."

"I'm trying," Trevor answered. Veronica walked up behind them, watching footage of the front gate moving at high speed. The picture rarely changed; occasionally the image of a person would flash through but Trevor didn't pause on any of them until the date changed to 06/15/2017.

"Okay, this is yesterday," Trevor said. He slowed down the feed. "There's the pool guy. In." He sped up the feed again. "And out." They watched a cat jump the fence. "My mom hates that cat. It poops in her rose garden." The day went on and nothing else changed.

"Hang on," Veronica said and the feed froze. "You were at my office about 5:30 PM. What did you do after that?"

"I went to Trevor's house. Got there about 6:45 PM."

"Were you walking? You didn't have your skateboard when you came in my office."

"I did actually. I leaned it up against the wall next to your office door and when you finally let me in, I sorta forgot about it. I grabbed it when I left again." Cole looked at Veronica, his frame stiffening like he was bracing for a blow. "Probably good since a skateboard could probably be a weapon and you already didn't want to let me in because you thought I might be a murderer."

Trevor's "What the hell?" and Veronica's "No!" were both loud and simultaneous.

Cole turned to Trevor, his voice both sarcastic and bitter. "Yeah, sorry, I haven't had a chance to tell you. Turns out, my mom may have been murdered—" Trevor's eyes widened in shock "—and everyone's a little concerned that I might have been the one who killed her."

"No!" Veronica repeated. "I have not thought that at any point. And I've never thought you had anything to do with Pony's...injury. We've just got to find the proof." She put her hand on Cole's shoulder. "I promise you, Cole. I never believed you did that. Not for a minute."

The tension visibly drained out of the boy at her words. "I would never hurt them."

"I know. That's why I'm here." She squeezed his shoulder. "Let's just work this problem. Okay?" He nodded and they both turned back to the computer. "Hit play, Trevor."

"I'm gonna need more information," Trevor said, still looking shocked.

"Okay," Veronica said, "very quick recap. Cole's mom's car accident seems a little fishy but there's no proof of anything. Police in San Francisco talked to her ex-boyfriend and he has something of an alibi but it's not ironclad. He suggests to the cops that Cole was mad at his mom right before she died, maybe mad enough to strike out at her, probably to help throw suspicion off of him. Then he shows up at Cole's grandma's house and gets himself invited here, and, while he's here, Cole's sweatshirt disappears. Shortly thereafter, my dog gets hurt in an incident that involves Cole's missing sweatshirt. And now, a girl last seen with Cole goes missing. Could all be completely random or could be a plot to make Cole look like a bad guy. Now, can we hit play, Trevor? We need to find Callie."

Trevor nodded and started the footage again. "Wow. That's some crazy shit. What did you do to this guy anyway?"

"Nothing," Cole said insistently. The picture of the gate continued to run at high speed without interruption, the picture gradually darkening as the time stamp moved into early evening. No one, not even the cat, passed through the shot. "I never liked him but I never did anything to him. When he'd come down with my mom to visit, he was always trying to be all 'dad-like', wanting to take me outside and play catch, asking about school, trying to give me advice. Stuff like that. I had a dad. Turned out he was my grandpa, but that didn't matter. I didn't need that kind of stuff from Nathan."

"Hey." Trevor stopped the feed. "Look at that."

A dark figure was standing by the gate. "Back up, how'd he get there?" Veronica asked. The feed went backwards rapidly, then stopped and played at normal pace. A man in a sweatshirt, hood over his head, appeared in the lower right of the screen, moved across the lawn and reached the gate, standing completely still for a minute, then slipping inside the gate.

"Okay, switch to the feed from the camera in the backyard," Veronica instructed Trevor before turning to Cole. "Did that look like Nathan to you?"

"I wanna say yes, but it was too dark to really see," Cole answered. "Body size and shape looked pretty close. Who else could it be?"

"Oh, it could be anyone," Veronica said, not wanting to get her own hopes up too much. The screen flicked to another angle, looking down the side of the house, toward the fence, back in daylight, with the date stamp stamp showing 06/16/17. He rewound, the day moving back toward the night before. They watched Cole come backwards out the window in the semi-dark, the reverse image of his sneaking back into the house around 5:30 AM. He moved backwards out the gate and the picture dimmed further.

"And there you are, reverse-sneaking out of the house," Veronica said as the tape moved back in time and his earlier trip out of the house to meet Callie and go back to the beach took place. "When you look at it this direction, it makes it more obvious what a stupid move this was, huh?"

"It does look weird backwards," Trevor agreed. "Okay, hold on. There he is."

He paused the screen, with the dark figure seeming to come in through the gate, his back to the camera, but since they were going backwards, Veronica realized it was really the image of him leaving. "Keep going back until he actually comes in and then we'll watch in real time." The speedy reverse showed that the man had stood next to the window to Trevor's room after he entered the yard.

"Okay, this is him coming in," Trevor said as he stopped the image and set it to play in regular time. The figure moved cautiously through the gate, looking around constantly. He moved to the window and stood there, completely still.

"Is your window open here?" Veronica asked. "Is he listening to you plan the night?"

"Probably," Trevor answered. "I usually leave it open so I can get in if I forget my keys."

Veronica shook her head. _Was I ever this dumb?_ "Okay, so what did you plan? Did you plan the private beach trip then, or just the trip for all four of you."

Cole looked up at her, face coloring. "We did say that as long as we were all in by midnight, it would be easy to go back out again later if we wanted to. Nothing definite, just the idea."

Veronica nodded and looked at Trevor. "Dude. You know you're getting grounded again when this is all over, right? And they're probably nailing your window shut." The boy nodded, his face rueful.

"Dad already said I was," Cole chimed in. "I don't care, as long as we find Callie."

"Dick said you were getting grounded?" Veronica asked, surprised. "Well, good for him." She concentrated on the screen again. "Hey, stop the feed. Okay, frame by frame backward. Stop." The figure had been glancing around, probably ensuring he was still alone and this frame showed him glancing toward the back of the house, and the camera that he apparently hadn't noticed. "Can the picture enlarge at all?"

"I think so." A pop-up menu appeared with various commands.

"Enlarge and enhance. Let's see those," Veronica directed.

Enlarge was highlighted then the picture changed. "Pull him into the center and hit enhance." Trevor continued to click, adjusting the picture until Veronica held up her hand.

"Okay, stop, there it is." Veronica looked at Cole who was still staring at the screen. "I gotta call Dad."

* * *

"That one's address is 10626 and the monitoring company is All View," Mac said to Dick, who dutifully jotted the information in the notebook she'd handed to him before they began their walk down Trevor's street.

"So that's the whole street," Dick said, stopping and tapping his finger against the page as he counted quietly. "With the dead end, anyone leaving has to come back out here. All right, we've got four with All View, five with Counteract, and three with Monitron. Four with no cameras, including the burned out house."

"I've already got ways into All View and Counteract. I've never been able to get through Monitron's firewall."

Dick leaned against the stop sign and grinned at her. "You're a bad ass, Mackie. Veronica might have the reputation for that, but you're just as amazing."

"She's got a gun strapped under her arm," Mac said, rolling her eyes at his idiocy. "That's bad ass. I'm walking up and down a street figuring out who uses what alarm company."

"So you can break into their systems and access their top secret shit."

"It's not really top secret."

"They think it is." He gestured to the neighborhood behind them. "And all these people think it's secret. If they knew you could get in and see the footage of everything that happens around their houses, don't you think they'd be a little freaked? Because of what you can do. That's bad ass. Stop arguing with me."

"Fine. I'm not arguing. Let's get back to the house so I can go do my freaky thing." She turned back toward Trevor's house and started down the sidewalk.

"That's not—" Dick grabbed her hand and pulled her back toward him. "I wasn't saying you were freaky."

"I know. I didn't mean to make it sound like that." She looked down at their joined hands. "You made it pretty clear last night what you think. About me at least."

"I hope that your recollection of that conversation is that I like you too much to just have sex with you in the heat of the moment." He tugged her closer. "You get that, right?"

"Yes, you were very clear." His face was so earnest, she had to smile at him. "That really wasn't what I expected from you."

"It was a first," he said, smiling back. "I'm not sure I've ever said no to sex before."

"That might not be the right thing to tell me," Mac teased.

"Like you didn't already know that. My life's pretty much been an open book. And I've never cared about somebody enough to care if they came back after we had sex. But with you...like I told you last night, if us having sex means you don't come around any more, then it's not worth it."

"I think you're wrong about that, it probably would be," she said with a smirk. "I have a variety of skills in that area. I could probably get you references."

He closed his eyes momentarily as he sighed. "No matter how mad your skills, it's more important to me that you're in my life, not just that I get you in my bed."

"I'm sorry, I'm being flip and you're trying to be serious." She took a step closer, facing him, still holding his hand, while resting her other hand on his arm. "Look, in the last few months, I have become...surprisingly fond of you. I wouldn't want to lose you out of my life either. But, I have been considering the bed part lately. Even before last night."

"Really?" He rested his free hand on her hip. She nodded.

"So, maybe, when this is done and we have some time, we can think about what we want." She inched closer. "Talk about what we want. Set some ground rules. So even if we do end up in bed, it won't be the end of our friendship, even if things don't work out."

He leaned down and kissed her and, like the night before, she was caught off guard by the swoop of excitement that went through her. The kiss was quick and then he was looking down at her again with wide blue eyes as she tried to cover her reaction.

"Some more of that would be nice," she quipped and Dick grinned. "Once we've got Callie back, and all this suspicion off Cole, maybe we can get dinner and talk about this." She backed away. "Right now, we need to stop letting ourselves get distracted like horny teenagers." She turned again to walk back toward Trevor's but Dick didn't release her hand. Instead, he laced his fingers through hers and straightened from his lean against the sign to walk beside her back to the house.

"All right then, if I didn't already have the motivation of a missing girl and my implicated son to get this wrapped up soon, I certainly have it now."

* * *

"Okay, Dad, we'll see you shortly."

She turned back toward Trevor. "Okay, let's see the driveway camera."

"Your dad's coming?" Cole asked.

"Yes, and he's bringing the sheriff and he's calling the San Francisco detective to let him know that Nathan was spying on you last night and the girl you went out with is missing. That'll get the formal side of the investigation kicked into high gear. There will probably be an APB issued on him within the hour, from both San Francisco and Balboa County." She pointed at Trevor. "Dude, hit play."

"Actually, it's rewind," Trevor said, and they began watching the footage spool backwards at high speed again. This was more active film as it showed cars and people on the street, and Trevor's mom and dad backing out of the driveway at about 8:15 AM and 7:30 AM respectively. A car that Trevor identified as his sister's stood to one side of the driveway, not moving all day. "She's in Yosemite with a friend and her family."

"Okay, slow down," Veronica said as the timer neared 6:00 AM. At 5:43 AM, a car seemed to drive backwards in front of the house, and then pull into the driveway.

"That's Callie's car," Cole said. "Going backwards, that's her driving away after backing out of the driveway. Oh shit, Trev, stop!"

The footage froze on the car in the driveway, with Nathan behind the wheel. Cole leapt to his feet, shouting, "No!" at the screen. Veronica grabbed her phone again, eyes fixed on the computer.

"Dad, we've got confirmation, I'm looking at footage of Nathan in Callie's car. I think they should have enough for an Amber alert."

 _"You've seen Callie, too?"_

"No, not yet, hang on." She turned to Trevor, standing next to Cole, who had collapsed back in his chair and was rocking as he muttered to himself. "Trevor, back it up some more fast and then we'll watch in the right direction. We need to see Callie so we know she's with him. That'll let them issue the Amber alert."

Trevor gestured toward Cole. "You think he'll be okay—"

"Just show it," Cole growled, looking up. "We need to see what he did to her."

Veronica nodded and the picture began to move again. In reverse, Nathan got out of the car and Callie came out of the back seat but it wasn't clear at that speed in reverse what condition she was in. Trevor rewound until both Callie and Nathan were off screen.

"Okay, forward, regular speed. Dad, I can tell you that Callie was in the car. Still trying to figure out if she was unconscious or what when she went in."

 _"Just watch and let us know what you see."_

A moment passed and Callie appeared on the screen, walking from the side of the house with the gate and Trevor's room. She was grinning stupidly as she walked to the driver's side door and opened it, then suddenly, a dark figure was behind her, his arm around her neck and hand over her face. She slumped over and he wrapped something around her head and pushed her into the backseat. He then got into the car and drove away, but in doing so, he clearly exposed his face to the camera.

"I think he must have been hiding by Trevor's sister's car and he caught her off-guard," Veronica said, both to her dad on the phone and to the silent boys beside her. "I'm guessing he chloroformed her, from the way she collapsed, and then he sorta blindfolded her, but not very well, and put her in the car. He did not bind her hands. That tells me that wherever he was taking her, he expected to be there before the chloroform wore off."

 _"It's good that he blindfolded her,"_ Keith said and she put him on the speaker. If he had good news in all of this, she wanted to share that with Cole and Trevor.

"Say that again, Dad," she said, just as Dick and Mac walked into the room. She held her finger up to her lips and they both nodded.

 _"I said that it's good that he blindfolded her. That suggests that he doesn't want to kill her. He's still trying to set Cole up. If she didn't see him, he could have been Cole."_

"He'd have to be the Flash," Veronica said. "She just left him on the other side of the house, climbing in the window."

 _"It's not impossible,"_ Keith said. _"That's all that matters here. He obviously didn't see the cameras so all he's trying to do here is make Cole look guilty."_

"You've got the Amber alert started now?" Veronica asked.

 _"Yeah, Norris is working on that. Did Mac get information on the monitoring systems on the street?"_ Mac and Dick both nodded.

"Yeah, they have."

 _"We need to know which way he went from Trevor's street. That'll give us a path to look for traffic cameras."_

"I'll have something for you shortly," Mac called to the phone, grabbing her laptop out of her bag and setting it on the desk. "Gimme maybe seven minutes."

 _"All right. We'll be over there soon. Everyone, be careful."_ The phone went dead and Veronica tucked it back into her pocket.

"Okay, let's see what ya got, MacKenzie."

Her phone rang again and she pulled it out of her pocket, expecting it to be her dad again, but the caller ID said Logan. She moved toward the front door. "I'll be on the porch," she called back to the group watching Mac in action. Dick raised his hand in acknowledgement, listening to Cole and Trevor fill them in on what they'd seen in the footage.

"Hi. I presume you got my message?"

 _"Yes, I did. I'm on my way back to Neptune now. Where are you? Did they find the girl yet?"_

"No, we have not, but we know for sure that Nathan has her. Trevor's house and most of his neighbors have cameras posted. We saw Nathan listening at Trevor's window before the boys went out for the night and we saw him grab Callie, probably chloroform her, and take off with her in her own car. Right now, Mac's digging into the cameras on the neighbors' houses to see what direction he took after he left Trevor's house." Veronica stepped off the porch and walked around to the driveway, looking around the car in the driveway to see if anything might have been dropped.

 _"What is up with this guy? He had enough reasonable doubt in any case that might be brought against him in Maggie's death. He doesn't need this vendetta against Cole to get off any charges. He's making this tons worse for himself, especially now. Kidnapping an innocent girl? Why? What's his motivation?"_

"Seriously, I don't know. I doubt any decent District Attorney would have bothered bringing charges against him about Maggie. There are too many questions to get a conviction, even before he accused Cole. Honestly, throwing accusations at the kid made him look worse, in my opinion." There was nothing on the ground so she walked away from the car, wandering down the sidewalk toward the cross street that exited the neighborhood.

 _"Is that message intended for me? Accusing Cole makes me look bad?"_

She stopped dead in her tracks. "Logan, no. That did not occur to me, seriously. You had reason to be concerned. I wish you could have given him a little more benefit of the doubt but I understand why you thought like you did."

 _"Do you really mean that?"_

"Yes, I really mean that." She sighed, looking up at the sky. "I love you, Logan, and I know you love me. I have never thought, at any point in all of this, that anything you thought, or said, or did, was coming from any place other than that love. You can believe that. Doesn't mean you didn't irk me some, but I always understood why you were concerned."

 _"Thank you."_ Logan's voice was thick with emotion.

"You're welcome," she said, smiling at the phone. "So, you're on your way here, I presume?"

 _"Yes, definitely."_

"Trevor's house is 10618 Woodlawn Court. We'll still be here when you hit town. There's no where else to go right now."

 _"Okay, I should be there in forty-five minutes or so. Be careful. Whatever's driving this guy to do this stuff...he's dangerous, Veronica. Be careful. Please."_

"I am. See you soon." She thumbed off the call and stuck the phone in her front jeans pocket. She turned in a circle, still bothered by the feeling of familiarity in the neighborhood. Who had she known here and why was her brain trying to remind her? She'd decided a while ago that sometimes her subconscious knew stuff that her conscious mind hadn't figured out yet so she almost always trusted that her instincts were the subconscious stuff trying to break through. She closed her eyes and tried to will the memory forward.

 _What from my childhood matters now? A lost girl. A bad guy skulking around. Nothing like that ever really mattered to me before Lilly died._

Her phone vibrated and she pulled it out of her pocket again.

"Mac, which way did he go?"

 _"Where the hell are you?"_ Mac's voice was angry.

"I'm outside looking around. Stop worrying. Which way did he go out of the neighborhood? Did you call Dad and let him know?"

 _"He didn't leave, Veronica. The car does not show up on the film from the houses at the intersection."_

"How's that possible?" She turned in a circle again. "That would mean they're in a house on the street? How would Nathan—"

She stopped, finally seeing the burned house. She'd noticed it when they came in but it hadn't really registered since it was damaged and obviously vacant. Now that she looked right at it, she suddenly realized why the neighborhood was familiar. She had been here before. Once upon a time, a lifetime ago, she'd gone to birthday parties at that house. Maggie Tierney's birthday parties. She was looking at the burned out husk of the house where Maggie grew up.


	23. Chapter 23

Veronica stopped, finally seeing the burned house. She'd noticed it when she'd turned onto the street but it hadn't really registered since it was damaged and obviously vacant. Now that she looked right at it, she suddenly realized why the neighborhood was familiar. She had been here before. Once upon a time, a lifetime ago, she'd gone to birthday parties at that house. Maggie Tierney's birthday parties. She was looking at the burned out husk of the house where Maggie grew up.

"Ask Trevor when the house down the street burned," she said, staring at the fenced off property like the hazard she now thought it was.

 _"Okay, hang on."_ Veronica heard muffled conversation in the background. She walked closer and saw that the driveway was not fenced off and it went to a separate garage further back on the property. _"Hey, Trevor said it's been several months. The neighborhood is all up in arms because it's been fenced off and not fixed for so long. Brings the property values down."_

Veronica tightened her arm against her side, feeling, for a change, comfort from the bulge under her arm. With no messenger bag over her shoulder, it was going to be her lone defense. "Mac, I'm betting that Nathan and Callie are in this house. Call Dad please and tell him they need to hurry."

 _"What are you going to do?"_ Mac's voice was angry again. _"Do not go in that house."_

"I'm gonna be careful. Make sure everyone stays at Trevor's. I don't need to be responsible for anyone else besides Callie."

 _"Veronica Mars! You stop—"_ Veronica ended the call and tucked the phone in her pocket again.

"Sorry, Mac." She searched for any movement in the windows then, seeing none, walked around the end of the cyclone fencing and started down the driveway, slowly and cautiously, eyes moving constantly as she watched for hazards. The house was set back a little way from the street, and she remembered that the family never used the front door because of where the garage was. She'd only been there a couple of times, but for some reason, using the back door had stuck with her.

She felt the phone vibrate in her pocket but ignored it as she reached the back of the house. She stopped and looked around, then, seeing no one, darted over to the garage. There was a small car inside. _Probably Callie's._ She turned back toward the house. There wasn't any noticeable damage in the back and she could see that the cyclone fencing had been cut and pushed back, giving easy access to the back door. A bike leaned up against the porch.

She reached for her gun then, and ducked through the fence, moving carefully, looking for anything that might set off an alarm in the house. She saw nothing. Veronica crept up the porch stairs, peeking cautiously into the windows, but still, seeing nothing. She tried the back door and was surprised to find that the knob turned. _Either a trap, or Nathan's an idiot._ She was starting to think he was an idiot with all this unnecessary craziness but she wasn't willing to bet her life on that. She started to press the door forward, but froze at the sound of feet pounding loudly down the driveway. She turned and dropped to a crouch to be out of sight through the windows, her gun pointed toward whoever was chasing her.

Veronica was both relieved and irritated when the owner of the pounding feet appeared around the corner of the house and was revealed to be Dick. He didn't see her, crouched on the back porch, as he ran straight for the garage. He stopped and peered in the window, then spun to look around. He suddenly bent at the waist and rested his hands on his legs, holding himself upright as he gasped for air. After a moment, his breathing began to quiet and she saw the instant he spotted her from the relieved look that crossed his face. Surprisingly, he didn't bellow her name as she'd expected he would, but then his glance suddenly moved upward and his expression turned murderous.

"I see you in there, Wills," he shouted. "Get down here."

Veronica froze, shocked at what was happening. She huddled closer to the edge of the porch, peeking up at the windows but seeing nothing.

Dick walked closer, ducking through the cut in the cyclone fence. "I don't think he's seen you," he said quietly, alternating between looks at her and glares up to the second floor. "Get down off the porch so you're not in plain sight when he comes out. Then you can sneak in and get Callie."

She looked at him incredulously, but slipped through the rails on the backside of the porch. "What if he's got a gun, Dick?" she called in a low voice.

"You're armed, too. Shoot him for me."

She gasped, then dropped to the ground as the door opened on the porch above her.

"What are you doing here, Dick?" Nathan asked in a surprised voice. "How'd you even know this was my house?"

"Just found out actually. You bought Maggie's family's old house for her? It's really too bad she turned you down when you wanted to marry her and bring her back here to live."

Veronica started at Dick's words. _Nathan owns the house?_

"She didn't turn me down at first," Nathan said, stepping out onto the porch. "It was later that she changed her mind. Doesn't matter anyway. Why are you here?"

Veronica peered up through the porch rails, trying to see Nathan without being seen. The hand near her was empty but her view of his other hand, and anywhere else on his body he might be concealing a weapon, was obscured.

"A girl went missing off this street earlier today," Dick said.

"That's terrible," Nathan answered, walking further out on the porch. "I haven't really met any of the neighbors. Has she been found?"

Veronica leaned into the porch, looking at Nathan's back. He had on a tee shirt over jeans that hung down and obscured his waistband. She couldn't tell if he had a weapon tucked into his pants or not.

"Of course she hasn't been found," Dick said, walking a few steps closer. "You've got her in here."

"What?" Nathan said, sounding shocked. "How would I do that? _Why_ would I do that?"

"You've got her car in the garage."

"There's no car in the garage," Nathan said. "I can't live here, with the fire damage, but I need to keep an eye on the place periodically, and I rode my bike over from the hotel I'm staying at." He gestured at the bike on the side of the porch opposite where Veronica now hunched, trying to stay out of sight. Nathan took another step toward the stairs. "Are you saying there's a car in the garage?"

"You know there is," Dick said. "How else did it get there?"

"I don't have the faintest idea," Nathan said, and he went down the stairs, approaching Dick cautiously. "I swear, man. I just came by to check on the house. I haven't been able to get the deductible together to get it fixed, and it's been a chore keeping the homeless out of the place. That's why I've come down here a few times."

"The homeless? Since when are there homeless in Neptune?" Dick laughed, the tension in his body seeming to vanish as he turned toward the garage. "But there is a car in here. Maybe we should see if someone's sleeping in it."

Veronica watched, suddenly worried that Dick had let his guard down too much, turning his back on Nathan like he had, but as Nathan closed the distance between them, Dick turned back to him again, still grinning, his transformation from aggressive and angry to amiable goof complete. "Hey, man, if someone leaves their car in your garage without permission, do you think you get to keep it?"

Nathan paused, seemingly confused by Dick's sudden friendliness. "I don't know," Nathan said, then he and Dick walked around the corner of the garage to where Veronica had seen a side door located. She sprang to her feet and ran quietly up the stairs, easing into the house. The back door opened into an enclosed porch area and she moved through it quickly, into the kitchen. There were takeout containers on the counter and a bag of empty soda cans on the floor but the room was otherwise empty.

Veronica took a quick peek out the window and saw no one, then she moved through the smoke-damaged dining room, containing only a cheap-looking table and two chairs. That room opened into the family room which was completely empty but with the walls more thoroughly scarred with burns and soot. The fire damage was the most extreme in this room, with the front interior wall severely burned, showing charred studs and the plywood that had been nailed up on the exterior of the house. The front door was gone and the windows were broken, but the plywood covered the spaces completely. There would be no retreat out through the front of the house.

Her memories of the home had come back for the most part, even with the damage, and she remembered that Mr. and Mrs. Tierney's bedroom had been downstairs with its own bathroom. She ran into the master bedroom, calling Callie's name as loudly as she dared. There was a suitcase on the bed and nothing else in the room.

There was no response to her muted calls so she looked into the bathroom and the closets but found nothing more. She turned back to the front of the house, moving to the foot of the stairs, just inside the front door. She paused to listen for any noises from the back door, then pressed her foot against the first riser, not sure if it was compromised by the fire. The wall moving up along the stairs showed that the fire that had engulfed the very front of the house had licked up along it but the stair felt solid under her foot. With only silence from the back of the house, she crept up the stairs as quickly as she could, staying to the side near the banister, rather than along the fire-damaged wall.

The first door was at the immediate top of the stairs. Veronica opened it slowly and silently. Empty, except for a chair that looked like it went with the table downstairs. She considered the closets but she needed to be quick and decided that a fast check of all the rooms would probably be more productive. She closed the door again and crept to the next room. Also empty. There was one more bedroom on this floor along with the bathroom. The bathroom door was open and she saw no one there, so she moved to the third bedroom.

Even though she was there looking for Callie, the sight of her, blindfolded and tied to a chair was surprising, and Veronica gasped. Callie's head had been down, her chin resting against her chest, but her head popped up at the sound, her body going rigid in her bonds.

"You sorry bastard," the girl said angrily. "Did you call my parents? I told you, they'd pay whatever you wanted."

Veronica grinned at her response. She'd anticipated a terrorized victim, and she knew that no matter what happened, there would likely be an aftermath for this girl, but she was still coming out swinging.

"Callie, shhhh, it's Veronica Mars. Cole's dad's friend? Do you remember me? You need to be quiet."

Callie's head turned toward the sound of Veronica's voice. "Veronica?" she said in a much lower voice.

"Yes, we're here to rescue you but you've got to keep it down." She slipped into the room, tucking her gun back into its underarm pocket, then removing Callie's blindfold. "Nathan's still outside and we're not sure if he's armed or not." She crouched down to examine Callie's bonds.

"Who's Nathan? Why did he kidnap me?"

"Cole's mom's old boyfriend, fiancé, whatever. It's long and complicated and I don't think we know everything yet but right now, we need to concentrate on getting out of here." Callie's hands were bound together behind the chair, the thin cord also looped through the bars of the chair back. Her feet were individually bound to the chair legs. "He really didn't want you getting loose."

Callie snorted. "Yeah, the first time he didn't tie me _to_ the chair. I got up when it sounded like he left and tried to get away. Only problem was I was blindfolded and he hadn't really left. I got in a couple good kicks before he got me back in the chair and really tied me up.

"Good job, kid," Veronica said, "but I don't have my bag so I've got nothing to cut these with." She stood and looked around the room. "Did you see the knife he used to cut the cords he tied you with?"

"I haven't seen anything. He's kept the blindfold on the whole time."

"That's good," Veronica responded. "That means he intended to give you back and didn't want to risk you seeing his face."

"But you know who he is," Callie said.

"We do now. We didn't when he took you." Veronica shook her head. "Okay, stay here and be quiet—"

"Hang on, I've got a pocket knife. We made a fire...umm...yeah, it's in my right front pocket but I can't reach it."

Veronica shook her head again. "We know about the beach. Stop trying to cover up every dumb thing you guys did last night. You've got much bigger problems. Like getting out of this house." She circled the chair and leaned down to reach into Callie's pocket. "Sorry about this."

"S'okay." The girl straightened her leg as much as she could so Veronica could get to the knife. "My mom and dad know about everything?"

"Yeah, you've been found out. Once they're done crying over you surviving this, you're gonna be in trouble." She settled onto the floor, sawing at the cord around Callie's leg. It snapped through and she unwound it and moved to the other leg.

"Oh God, thank you." Calllie stretched her freed leg, rotating her foot in a circle. "Getting kidnapped is uncomfortable."

Veronica choked out a laugh, trying to stay quiet. "Yeah, that's often true." The second bond snapped. "You're taking it pretty well, though." She unwound the cord and stood up. As she did so, she glanced out the window and saw Dick and Nathan standing outside the garage, talking. She turned back to Callie. "We gotta hurry up."

* * *

Dick let Nathan lead the way into the garage. Letting the guy get behind him seemed like a bad idea. Nathan stopped short in the doorway at the sight of the car.

"How did a car get in my garage?" he asked, a look of shock on his face.

"Ummm, I'm guessing someone opened the door and drove it in," Dick answered, raising his eyebrows at Nathan's display of innocence. "That's usually how it happens."

"Well, yeah, but how long's it been here? I didn't do it."

"When did you get to the house?" Dick asked. "You said you're staying at a motel? Where?"

"It's kinda a fleabag. The Camelot. Ever heard of it?"

Dick laughed. "That's the no-tell motel of this town, dude. You're probably the only person there renting by the night instead of the hour."

Nathan looked at him reproachfully. "It's not that bad."

Dick shrugged. "Whatever. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I told you. I've gotta check up on the place once in a while." He stepped closer to the car, resting a hand on the hood. "I can't afford to get the place fixed and I can't sell it until it is fixed, so I'm stuck coming down here every once in a while to keep an eye on the place."

"Did Maggie want to move back to Neptune? Is that why you bought the house?" Dick figured he wasn't going to get a better chance to find out what was going on here, and Veronica needed him to keep the guy away from the house as long as possible.

Nathan turned back toward him. "She brought me here once. We'd come down to visit her parents, and Cole, and we took a detour before heading back to San Francisco. She seemed to have pretty good memories of growing up here, so I thought, maybe, she'd like to come back."

"After one trip? That's a pretty big decision when she's only shown you the place once."

"Maybe, but I just..." he paused and grimaced.

Dick had a sudden thought. "How long ago did you buy the place?"

Nathan's brow furrowed as he seemed to think back. "Umm, it's been a little more than a year."

"So after she got Cole back then." Nathan nodded and Dick decided to take a chance. "I've got the impression that things started going sideways with you and Maggie once he came to live with her. You were hoping things would improve if you bought her the family home, right?"

"Your kid really messed things up between us," Nathan said, his voice hardening. "After everything I did to get him back for her..."

"What did you have to do with that?" Dick asked. He was starting to be uncomfortable alone with this guy. "I thought she got him back after her dad died and her mom was on her own.

"Nothing. Look, I need to see who's parked their car in my garage." He tried the passenger door but it was locked, so he walked around to the driver's side. That door did open and he slid into the driver's seat, reaching across to the glove box for the registration.

"Whoever parked the car must be about your height. You fit right behind the wheel there," Dick said, watching Nathan's face through the window. His lips pressed together into a thin line but otherwise, his expression didn't change.

"Yeah, weird," Nathan said, and then held up the registration. "Robert and Tamara Bryce. Do you know who they are?"

"Yeah, the family with the missing daughter. This is her car, just like I said." Dick reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "I really think we need to call the Sheriff and let them know the car's here."

Nathan was out of the car in a flash and moving around the car toward Dick who took a nervous step back toward the side door. "Dude, back off."

"What? Oh, sorry, I was just in a hurry. We should call from my land line. I've heard that 9-1-1 works better on a house phone than on a cell."

"You're not living here and you've got a land line? I live in my house and I don't even have one." Dick took another step toward the back door, suddenly anxious to be out in the open. "We don't need to use 9-1-1 anyway, I've got a more direct contact." He moved the rest of the way to the garage door, opening it and taking a single step out, pausing to allow Nathan to exit the garage ahead of him. Nathan crossed in front of him, bumping hard into Dick as he passed through the doorway. Dick's phone tumbled from his hand at the hit, landing with a crunch on the ground.

"Dude, that's not cool," Dick said irritably. He bent to pick up the wreckage. "Dammit, you busted my phone."

"Sorry, man. Come on in the house, we'll call from there." Nathan turned and walked toward the front of the garage. Dick followed, uncertain if it was safe to go in the house yet or if Veronica was still inside. He stopped in the driveway, glancing up toward the window from which he'd originally seen Nathan looking down. Nothing there but he did think he saw a flash of movement a couple of windows to the right.

"Hey, Nathan," he called. The other man stopped at the fence he'd been about to duck through and turned back toward Dick.

"What? Thought you were all hot to call the authorities," Nathan said. He seemed more agitated. "So come on. Let's go in the house."

Dick was pretty sure that inside the house was the last place he wanted to go with this guy, especially since he now seemed so anxious to get there.

"I just had a thought. You want to sell the house, maybe I can buy it from you. I can afford the repairs and it'll give Mrs. Tierney a place to stay periodically, or maybe even permanently, so she can see Cole more."

Nathan stepped back toward him, confusion on his face. "You'd be willing to do that?"

"I dunno, maybe. You don't really have any reason to stay here and it'd be nice for Cole to be around his grandmother again. I mean, she was his mom for most of his life."

"She shouldn't have been." The confusion was gone, replaced with anger. "And she would have been happy to let Maggie be his mom. It was her dad who kept that from happening."

"Well, it worked out at the end," Dick said. "For a while at least."

"Yeah, the mean old bastard died and she finally got her chance to be a mom, even if it only was for a little while." Nathan got a faraway look in his eye and Dick actually felt sorry for him momentarily, before remembering why he standing there.

"Hey, you know, the sheriff was probably on her way into the neighborhood already, we should walk down to where Cole's friend lives and let them know about the car."

"No, no, we should go inside and call," Nathan said. "Come on, let's go."

"I don't really think—" Dick began, as Nathan moved across the yard toward the porch stairs.

"Fine. Wait out here for me then. I'll be back in a minute. Don't go anywhere." Nathan bounded up the stairs and pulled the back door open.

* * *

The cord finally broke and Veronica quickly unwound it from the chair and Callie's wrists.

"Okay, let's get out of here." Veronica stood and glanced out the window. Dick and Nathan were still outside, but it looked like Nathan was trying to head back into the house. She still wasn't sure how far Nathan would go if pushed and it felt safest to get out of the house. Unfortunately, the only viable exit seemed to be the back door.

"Follow me and do _exactly_ what I tell you to do. No questions, just do it. Fast. Do you understand?"

Callie nodded.

"Good. And no talking either, unless it's absolutely necessary." She gave Callie a hard look. "Got it?"

The girl nodded again and Veronica led her out of the bedroom and down the hall. At the top of the stairs, she paused, listening for the sound of Nathan re-entering the house but she heard nothing.

"Stick close to the bannister side," she whispered and started down the stairs. She ran different scenarios through her mind as they moved to the first floor, then through the living room and dining room to the kitchen. They could both just walk out the back door. If Nathan wasn't armed, what could he do? Dick was there, she had her own gun, and Callie wasn't any shrinking violet. But if he was, he could potentially shoot all three of them. She could probably shoot him also, but if she got Dick and a teenager shot, or even killed, getting Nathan too wouldn't be enough. As they passed the hall back to the master bedroom, she considered hiding Callie while they handled Nathan, maybe waited for her dad and Norris, but she was nervous about staying too deep within the house. The idea felt claustrophobic.

As they entered the dining room, a door in the corner of the room caught her eye and she remembered something else about the house. Veronica veered toward the door, glancing behind her to make sure Callie was following.

"What are we doing?" Callie asked, and Veronica shushed her.

"There's a walk-through pantry between the dining room and kitchen," Veronica said in a low voice. "I remember that we used it for hide and seek." She stepped through the doorway and looked around.

The pantry was as she remembered, narrow, running sideways for the length of the wall between the kitchen and the dining room. There were built-in cabinets on one side and shelves on the other. A hutch sat at the far wall. Each corner was a little nook between the cabinet's and shelves' ends and the hutch.

"All right," Veronica whispered, "get into the little space there—" she gestured to the corner on the kitchen side "—and be invisible. Hunker down, squish into the corner, whatever keeps someone from noticing you if they come through those doors." She gestured back toward the doors into the kitchen and dining room.

Callie started to speak, presumably in protest from the look on her face, but Veronica held up her hand, pushing the girl toward the corner.

"Do what I tell you and keep quiet. I'm getting us out of this but I need you to cooperate. Got it?"

"Fine," Callie said in a petulant tone that would have made Veronica laugh in different circumstances. She squeezed into the space and crouched down, effectively vanishing into the dark corner.

"Stay there," Veronica ordered and turned back toward the doors. She started to edge into the kitchen when a small, dark shape on the shelf just outside the kitchen door caught her eye.

"Oh, Nathan, this won't do at all." She grabbed the revolver and swung the cylinder open, revealing six bullets. She sighed and closed it again, sliding the gun into her waistband. She moved into the kitchen and onto the enclosed porch. When the back door suddenly opened, she pulled his gun out of her waistband and pointed it at him.

"Hey, Nathan," she said, and he jerked to a halt. "I think this belongs to you."

* * *

Dick hadn't wanted to go into the house, but he wasn't going to let Nathan go in with Veronica still in there. As Nathan opened the door, Dick ran for the porch stairs, needing to stop him before he stumbled on Veronica and Callie. When Nathan stopped short at the back door, Dick stopped also, and when he backed out of the doorway, Dick was shocked at the sight of Veronica coming out the door, pushing him back with a gun leveled at his chest.

"Hey, Nathan. I think this belongs to you."

"What are you doing in my house?" Nathan asked angrily.

"I think Dick may have told you. We're looking for a girl who was abducted from a house down the street." She continued to advance, and Nathan continued to back away from her, coming down the porch stairs one slow step at a time.

"I don't know anything about that. Now, do you think you can stop pointing a gun at me?"

"Yeeeeahhhh...no. I don't think so." Dick almost laughed at the face she made as she said that; one eyebrow raised and the other side of her face scrunched up, like she was actually considering his request. "I definitely feel better pointing a gun at you."

Nathan looked away from her for a moment, glancing back over his shoulder. His eyes passed by Dick, and before he knew what was happening, Veronica was shouting, "Dick, get back!" and Nathan had his arm twisted behind his back.

"What the..." Dick began, trying to twist free before he felt something jabbing into his side and looked down to find another gun in Nathan's hand, pressed between his ribs. He froze where he was, not wanting to end up with a hole in his side.

"Nathan, let him go," Veronica shouted. "I'm warning you. I don't want to shoot you, but I will if I have to."

"Ahh, but see, I kinda am looking forward to shooting this guy," Nathan said. "Everything is screwed up, and it all started with him."

"What did I do?" Dick asked incredulously. "I was just standing here."

"What you did to Maggie. If you hadn't been so stupid and careless, we would have been able to meet and be together without her lost son getting in the way."

"That was fifteen years ago," Dick shouted. "I never meant to hurt anyone."

"Maybe not, but you did. And your stupid kid. Do you have any idea how hard I worked to get them back together, and he never respected me. Never even gave me a chance. After everything I did for them both." He tugged on Dick's arm, moving them back toward the cut in the fence.

"You said that before," Dick said, letting himself be walked backwards as his gaze flicked between Nathan and Veronica. "What do you mean? What did you do?" He saw Veronica's face transform, that _I know what happened_ look that usually made him so nervous flickering across her face.

"You wanna know what I think he did?" Veronica asked, proving to Dick that his Veronica-reading skills were getting _way_ better than they used to be. She continued to follow them across the yard, but there was something predatory about her that hadn't been there before. "I'm starting to think he did something to Maggie's dad. Mrs. Tierney was fine with them giving Cole to Maggie, but her dad wasn't, and he did not like you. If she'd picked someone he liked, maybe he would have given up Cole without a fight. But if she had the bad sense to pick you, he couldn't chance giving her the only son he'd ever had."

"He never gave me a chance!" Nathan shouted, and Dick cringed involuntarily away from his angry voice. "I kept bringing her down to visit them, trying to get that old bastard to warm up to me so she could have her kid back. Nothing I did was ever good enough. I knew we were never going to get what we wanted from him...so I eliminated the problem."

Dick froze. "You what?"

"I put us in a position to be a family without any interference." Nathan jerked on Dick's arm to get him moving again. "But then your kid turned out to be as difficult as his grandfather, and ruined things between me and Maggie."

"Did you poison him? Mr. Tierney, I mean," Veronica asked. "You're in pharmaceutical sales; don't you have the samples you give to doctors? Did you use some of those in his coffee or something?"

"Nah, just the opposite. Mrs. Tierney set up his meds in one of those weekly pill holders. He was taking high blood pressure meds and some other stuff, enough different things that he didn't notice when a few pills went missing. He really needed that high blood pressure medicine, especially when we'd just given them the news that we were engaged. A few days of that, and the old guy had a stroke. It was only a matter of time after that." They reached the fence and Nathan pulled Dick through the cut, then stopped. Veronica's slow pursuit stopped in response, although her speculation continued.

"So you get rid of the pesky future father-in-law, and get your fiancée the best gift ever, her son back, and then, the kid turns her against you. Why'd you kill Maggie and not Cole?"

"I would never hurt Maggie on purpose. I got her to meet me to talk about getting back together. She couldn't let her kid rule her life." Nathan sighed heavily. "But she got angry when I tried to make her understand she was being stupid—"

Veronica scoffed. "Yeah, that's a great way to bring someone over to your point of view."

"—and she started to leave. I tried to grab her, keep her from leaving until we could work things out, and she jerked away and fell. Hit her head on the cement bench we'd been sitting on. And she was just gone."

"It was an accident," Dick said. "Why go to all the trouble of pretending she was in a car accident?"

"I knew people would think I'd hit her, or pushed her. I thought it would be easier."

"But it didn't work that way, did it?" Veronica challenged him. "And when the police told you they were suspicious, you set about making Cole look like a viable alternative. Tried to kill my dog in a way that would make Cole look responsible, and then, kidnapping a girl who was last seen with him."

"Why not? It was all his fault anyway." Nathan looked coldly at Dick. "Well, not all his fault. You've got blame in there, and so did Mr. Tierney. He got what was coming to him, and now it's your turn." He moved his gun hand, pressing the muzzle higher against Dick's chest, and cocking the gun.

"Don't do it," Veronica yelled, raising the gun that she held. "Shooting Dick is not getting you out of this. I will shoot you."

"I don't think I'm getting out of this anyway," Nathan answered in a flat voice. "Might as well take him with me. That'll do a number on the kid, won't it?"

Those words made Dick think he had nothing more to lose and he slammed his head back into Nathan's face, then twisted in Nathan's grasp. A loud report sounded and he felt a stinging pain in his arm. The momentum from his actions carried him in a circle and he spun to the ground. His ears were ringing from what he was sure was a gunshot, but not so loudly that he couldn't hear a second loud noise to his left as he lay on the ground, wondering if he was dying.

* * *

Veronica ran for Dick, who was lying on the ground, clutching his bloody arm and swearing. Nearby, Nathan was sprawled on the ground, silent and still, a widening pool of blood spreading from him. Norris Clayton and her dad stood in the driveway near the edge of the house. Norris was returning his gun to its holster. She kicked Nathan's gun away from him, then fell onto her knees beside Dick. She pressed him back against the ground, trying to see from where his bleeding stemmed.

"Ronnie, hey. What's up?"

She snorted a laugh, finding the wound on his arm. "Not much, Dick. You're even luckier than I thought; you've barely got a wound here. Your arm's grazed but it looks like that's all." She set the revolver on the ground, then skinned out of her overshirt and pressed it against Dick's arm. She looked up at Keith, as he ran up to them. "Good timing, Pops." She glanced over at Nathan. "He looks a little more messed up."

Norris dropped to the ground next to Nathan. "Where's his gun?"

Veronica fluttered her hand toward where she'd kicked the gun. "That's the one he used; this one I found in the pantry and took it with me so he couldn't use it. Oh, Dad, there's a door between the kitchen and the dining room for a pantry; I've got Callie hiding in there. Wanna get her out here and let her parents know?"

"Everyone's on their way here, ambulances too," Norris said. He rolled Nathan onto his back, eliciting a moan from the unconscious man, then patted him down to make sure there weren't more weapons hidden on him. "Hey, Keith," he shouted toward the house. "Can you see if there's anything in there to use to put pressure on this wound?"

"Here, use this," Veronica pulled her shirt back from Dick's arm and tossed it to Norris. "This guy doesn't need it. He's fine."

"Are you sure, Ronnie?" Dick struggled upright, peering down at his arm. "Just a scratch, huh?"

"Yep, you're a lucky guy." She smiled over at Norris. "Thanks, Deputy, for handling Nathan. I was ready to shoot, but then Dick decided to take things into his own hands."

"He was ready to go and planned to take me with him. Not quite ready for that," Dick replied.

"Yeah, I get it—"

"VERONICA!"

"Logan's here," Dick said with a grin. Veronica smacked him in the leg and stood up in time to get caught in a fierce hug.

"What happened? Are you all right? Where are you hit?" Logan set her back down and started to pat his hands over her body searching for wounds, like she'd done with Dick. She caught his hands and held them in hers.

"Not my blood. Mostly Dick's, some of Nathan's." She pulled him down to the ground with her, sitting next to Dick again. "We're all okay and we got Callie. Dick chased me down so I wasn't on my own and then distracted Nathan so I could go in the house and find her."

"Good job, man," Norris said and Logan nodded. He was holding Veronica tightly against him but he was staring at Dick's bloody arm.

The sound of sirens caught Veronica's ear. "Sounds like the cavalry's almost here." She nodded at Norris. "Oh yeah, this guy confessed to the accidental death of Maggie Tierney and then staging her motor vehicle accident, as well as the purposeful withholding of essential medications to her father, which appears to have resulted in his death. You'll want to make sure those charges are added to his list. Oh, and whatever the charges are for trying to kill my dog to frame a teenager for his own crimes."

Logan's silent focus on Dick turned to her. "It was him."

"Yep, just like I thought, right from the beginning."

"But she's not going to say 'I told you so'," Dick said with a laugh. "Ronnie's far too big a person for that."

"I am?" she asked and all three men laughed. "That doesn't sound like me."

"When she's right, she's right," Logan said. "I'm used to it by now." He held out his hand to Dick. "Thanks for being here to help her, Dick. Again. It means a lot to me that when I couldn't be here, you were."

Dick looked at Logan's hand, then grabbed it and used it to pull himself closer to Logan and Veronica, catching them both in a bear hug. Stuck in the middle, Veronica grinned as she felt Logan's arms come around her to return Dick's embrace.


	24. Chapter 24

_We've barely seen Logan for the last two chapters, but he's back!_

* * *

Veronica walked into the apartment, fairly certain that what was coming next wasn't going to be pretty. She'd sent Logan home ahead of her, promising that she'd be right behind him, as soon as the sheriff had all the answers she needed. He hadn't wanted to go. He'd barely moved from her side from the time he'd arrived on the scene bellowing her name until she told him for about the seventh time to go ahead and go home and she'd be there as soon as she could. She thought back to what she'd said to Callie while they were in the burned out house. _'Once they're done crying over you surviving this, you're gonna be in trouble.'_ She figured that Logan would probably have gotten over the relieved stage by the time she made it to the apartment and the trouble over her actions would begin.

The first thing she noticed as she stepped inside was a delicious smell. As she came into the open front room, she saw the Mama Leone's take out containers on the table and stopped in surprise. Maybe he _was_ still in the relieved stage; she hadn't been expecting dinner from her favorite place. She heard the bedroom door close behind her, then Logan walked up and kissed the top of her head.

"I figured with all the excitement, you'd be hungry." He lifted her messenger bag off her shoulder. "Do you still have the gun in the holster? I can lock it up for you while you get washed up and then we'll eat."

"No, the sheriff took it. She knew I didn't use it but she thought it would be better to catalog all the weapons at the scene and Dad agreed. She took Mr. Sparky too. Said I'd get them back in a couple of days. I guess we can say they're on administrative leave, just like Norris, for a few days at least while they complete the investigation."

"He's on leave? Why?" He set her bag on the couch and moved into the kitchen.

"They have to make sure that him shooting Nathan was justified."

"Of course it was. He'd just shot Dick and who knows what he was going to do next."

"Yeah, it's mostly a formality. He'll be back on the job before long. So, can you give me maybe fifteen minutes?. I need a quick shower. I want to get the blood off me." She saw his shoulders tense and regretted being so specific. "Although, if you're available for back scrubbing, you could come with me. See for yourself that I'm fine."

He sighed and looked over at her, his expression unreadable. "Not this time. I'll have everything ready for you when you're out." She frowned and he seemed to take pity on her, giving her a reassuring smile. "I don't want everything getting cold and if I go with you, we may never eat."

"Okay, this'll be the fastest shower in the history of crime scene clean ups." She grinned at him and headed for the bedroom.

She was back out in twelve minutes, her hair still wet and combed straight back, dressed in yoga pants and a tank top. She wasn't above using a slightly revealing outfit to try to distract him from the bawling out she was expecting.

Logan was sitting at the table, his bent elbow leaning on it and his head resting against his fingers. She watched him momentarily, trying to gauge his mood. She was still unsure what he was thinking when he looked up and caught her spying.

"How long have you been there?" he asked with a smile. "Your lasagna's getting cold." He stood up, moving toward her and catching her hand. "Come on. With all this excitement, you've gotta be starving."

She nodded and followed him back to the table, letting him seat her and push her chair in.

"Thanks for getting this," she said, continuing to be unsure of his thoughts. "I am hungry. We left the office before lunch and you know it's not often that I miss a meal."

He nodded and began to dish the lasagna and manicotti onto their plates.

"Oh, this smells amazing," she said, just before taking her first bite. Logan tipped a finger toward her, just as her moan of satisfaction over her food began and she tried not to spit out her food as she laughed at him predicting her response.

"One thing I can always count on is your appreciation for your food," he said with a smile. "Only really predictable thing about you."

She raised her eyebrows and swallowed the bite. "Ahh, is this the start of the lecture? Stop taking these unnecessary chances, be where you're supposed to be, wait for backup."

"Veronica? Do you really think I don't appreciate your unpredictability?" He scrunched his nose at her. "Do you even know me?"

"Of course I know that you like that, but I also know that there's a point where it's not fun anymore."

"I'm not going to lecture you. You obviously know all those things. You just prioritize them below the need to save the day."

"Oh really! Now I've got some sort of savior complex?"

"Of course you do, but so do I, so I get why you thought you needed to bust in today. That girl had been missing for hours. If Nathan was a sexual predator, time was not on your side." Logan reached for his water glass and took a quick drink. "Of course, in this case, that wasn't true and you could have waited and the outcome might have been a little less bloody."

"I didn't know that," Veronica protested around her manicotti.

"That was my point, Veronica. No one knows what they're heading into during a crisis. You take the information you have and do your best. It's the same thing when I fly a mission, except I'm not going off on my own. I've got a chain of command and I can't just buck it. You've got a lot more autonomy and that can mean more risk."

She swallowed her mouthful and turned to face him directly, eyes narrow with suspicion. "What is this? You're on my side? I expected to come home and spend the evening being lectured."

He huffed out a small laugh and reached forward to smooth his fingers across her cheek before tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'm always on your side. Do I sometimes wish your life had a little less excitement? You bet. But I love you, and that's what matters the most to me. All I want you is for you to be as safe as you possibly can be. That's what everyone who care about you wants. Your dad and Mac both made it pretty clear while we were at the scene how they felt about you heading into that house on your own. I don't think I need to say anything else."

Veronica laughed. "Ah, you're playing good cop today, got it." She took another bite.

"That's not exactly the point, but I just don't think there's anything to say that hasn't already been said, repeatedly. And kinda loudly." He took a bite, then jumped up and headed for the kitchen. At her inquisitive look, he picked up a basket on the counter and turned back to the table. "Almost forgot the garlic bread."

She grinned and reached for a slice. "A far greater error than breaking into an alleged bad guy's house." Logan chuckled and shook his head.

"And that statement right there is why there will always be people lecturing you for your choices."

They ate the rest of their meal in relative silence. Any conversation was limited to "Pass the lasagna, please" and similar statements. The food was delicious, as always, and Veronica really was starving, although she hadn't realized it until she started to eat. She was dragging the last piece of garlic bread through the remnants of sauce on her plate when Logan resumed the discussion of the day's events.

"I still don't get why Nathan went to all this trouble. From everything the cops told your dad, they didn't have enough evidence in their investigation to justify bringing any charges. If he just would have sat tight, the whole thing would have blown over. I get that he was mad at Cole since he blamed him for the breakup but he went to such extremes, and now he's probably going to jail, when if he'd just kept quiet, he'd be free right now."

Veronica looked away, her lips pressed together, wondering if she should say what she was thinking. She glanced back to Logan, who was watching her speculatively. "I can see your brain working," he said. "Just spit it out."

"Sorry, it's just...this might seem a little insensitive, but okay. I want you to think, haven't you ever seen anything like this before? A time when someone went way overboard to pin a crime on someone else when they really didn't need to?"

Logan shrugged. "I never got why the Fitzpatricks sent Dr. Griffith after me. No one was investigating Felix's death after I got off the first set of charges and if they'd just let it go, Lamb wouldn't have ever looked at the case again."

"That wasn't what I was thinking about, but yeah, that's totally true. I was actually thinking about Carrie."

He frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Cobb thought she'd become too much of a loose cannon and decided she needed to die. If he'd just OD'd her that night, and left her to be discovered whenever, no one would have thought twice. The way she was living at that point—" she reached out and took his hand "—I'm sorry but even you wouldn't have questioned that she'd accidentally overdosed. He'd still be living large on Gia and Luke, instead of doing two consecutive life sentences up at Pelican Bay. But instead, he tried to make sure no one would ever suspect him by setting you up, kinda like Nathan was trying to do to Cole."

"Wow." Logan straightened in his chair, looking thoughtful. "That's true, too. Is it weird that both times I've been set up it's been completely unnecessary?"

Veronica scoffed. "That's what you got out of this conversation?"

He shrugged. "It's not the only thing."

"Is one of those other things that you and Cole now have something else in common?" She stood up and moved to stand beside him, resting her arm around his shoulders and laying her cheek against the top of his head. He snaked his arm around her waist.

"Set up unnecessarily by stupid creeps and moms whose deaths were inadvertently caused by their jackass significant others?"

She sighed and kissed his head. "That wasn't what I meant. I was talking about Dick."

"Oh."

"I know you're still figuring out how to deal with the stuff you've learned in the last couple of weeks, but—"

"No, I'm really not." He pulled her into his lap. "I'm always going to have a hard time with what happened that night. I think we all are. But you've made it clear that you're not holding a grudge and I've got a lot to be grateful for with Dick. Him helping you today, getting shot helping you. And him rescuing Pony and keeping you out of the ocean that morning she got hurt. I can't forget those things."

She stroked his cheek. "Are you ready to tell him that?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I think I probably am. Maybe we can go over to the house tomorrow? Do you think he'll be okay with seeing me?" Veronica laughed and kissed his forehead.

"Yeah, I think he'll be okay with seeing you. I think he'll be thrilled." She kissed his head again and stood up.

"Come on, let's get dinner cleaned up. It's been a long day and tomorrow probably will be too. I think we need a good night's sleep." She gathered their empty plates and headed for the kitchen.

Logan laughed and followed. "Oh, I see, a good night's sleep. Okay. We're going to bed at—" he turned to look at the clock on the microwave "—9:20 PM so we can get a good night's sleep." He grinned at her and began to rinse dishes.

"What are you implying, Echolls?" She grinned back at him, taking the rinsed dishes off the counter and putting them into the dishwasher. "That I have nefarious reasons for going to bed a little early? That sounds crazy, don't you think?"

He dried his hands and leaned back against the counter. "Crazy and nefarious. That doesn't sound like you at all, Mars."

"I think you're implying something again." Veronica closed the dishwasher and looked up, smiling suggestively. "You're welcome to sit up and watch Jimmy Kimmel, but I'm going to bed." She headed for the bedroom, her smile widening as she heard him follow.

"Pretty sure Kimmel's a rerun. Might as well come to bed with you."

* * *

Veronica turned at the front door and clasped Logan's hands in hers. "You ready for this?"

He sighed and raised an eyebrow at her. "You make it sound like I'm going to the guillotine."

"Well, you haven't been here for a while, so..."

"It's only been like four days, Veronica."

"You used to live here. Four days is a long time." She smiled up at him. "I know that all the stuff with Cole should be over now, but you were mad at Dick before any of that happened. You said you were past everything but it's only been like a week that you've been trying to adjust to all of that. I'm not sure it's been long enough to really get that part resolved in your psyche."

Logan snickered and shook his head. "You're worried about my psyche? Really?"

"You know what I mean. A week ago, you were pretty upset. I know it seems like longer ago with everything that's happened but I don't want to push things. I want to see how Dick is doing, but if you're uncomfortable, you don't have to come in with me. He'll understand." She stroked her thumbs across the backs of his hands. "I won't be too long if you want to wait in the car."

"I'm fine." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Thank you for worrying about me, but I want to see how he is too. I didn't get to thank him for looking out for you when you went rogue yesterday. That's twice in a week he's kept you safe, and Pony too. Like I said last night, I'm not completely over the other stuff, from Shelley's party, and I might not ever be, but I'm not over what I did either, and I have to live with myself everyday. I can get back to mostly normal with Dick."

"Okay," she said, stretching up to press her lips to his. "But if you start to get uncomfortable, let me know. We can go. And we don't have to stay long."

"Stop worrying," he answered, then reached past her to rap on the door. "We're gonna be fine." He wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed her toward the door before opening it and stepping inside. Cole was nearly to the door as it opened and he looked at them with surprise.

"Hi guys. You're here to see Dad?"

"Not just your dad, Cole." Logan looked down at Veronica, then pulled her against his side. She looked up at him, trying to follow his lead. She was fine with whatever he wanted and she wrapped her arm around his hips, trying to let him know she was here for him.

"I wanted to apologize to you, Cole," Logan began. Cole started to sputter in protest but Logan raised his free hand. "No, I owe you an apology. I know you had nothing to do with what happened to Pony, and I'm sorry that I accused you."

"It's okay, you didn't know—"

"Maybe there were reasons for my concerns, but I should have given you the benefit of the doubt. I let some other things happening between your dad and I cloud my thinking. That was my mistake, and I'm sorry." He extended his hand to Cole. "I hope that you'll accept my apology."

Cole stared at the offered hand for a moment, then grasped it. "Absolutely." He glanced at Veronica, then at Logan. "Umm, I know this isn't my business, but...my dad is really sorry about whatever is going on between the two of you. I hope that you'll be able to accept his apology."

Veronica looked down, trying to hide her smile. She was pretty sure Cole was attempting to use Logan's remorse against him. "You know, you're right," Logan said, "it's really not your business but I'm pretty sure we'll be able to work things out. Okay?"

Cole nodded. "I just hope you'll give him another chance."

"I will. So, can we come in?"

The boy stepped back. "Absolutely, come on in." He turned toward the great room and they followed.

"So, Cole," Veronica said, "how are you doing? I mean, with everything that came out about Nathan, and your mom, and your grandpa. I know that must have been really hard to handle."

"Yeah, it's been crazy. I talked to my grandma this morning. She's so upset about what Nathan did to my grandpa."

"I talked to my dad this morning. He said that Nathan signed a confession admitting everything he told us yesterday. That'll save her, and you, from having to sit through a trial and maybe have him get acquitted." She moved to the table, pulling Logan behind her. "Where's your dad?"

"I'm here, Ronnie. What's the life threatening adventure for today?" Dick entered the room, wounded arm in a sling. He gestured at Logan with his good arm. "Your regular stooge's available this morning so maybe I'll sit this one out, if you don't mind."

Veronica laughed. "Okay, fine. You're off the clock. At least until you're out of the sling."

Dick smirked at Cole. "We're keeping the sling."

"So, how are you?" Logan asked over the laughter of the other three.

Dick sobered and looked directly at him. "I'm fine. The bullet just grazed me. The sling is really just to keep me from forgetting and doing something I shouldn't. I'll be back to full power in a couple of days." He smiled tentatively, his nervousness radiating off of him. "Thanks for asking."

"Oh sure." Logan shifted from foot to foot, looking as nervous as Dick. "So, um, Dick. I wanted to see you this morning, to see how you are, and say...thank you."

Dick nodded. "Sure. I couldn't leave her out on her own. She gets into trouble too easily. Anyone else would have done the same."

"But it wasn't anyone else who ran down the street to help keep her out of trouble. It was you. And I just want you to know that I'm grateful."

Veronica frowned at Cole. "They make me sound like I need a keeper." She walked over to him and looped her arm through his. "Come on. You and I are going down to the beach. We'll leave these two to talk."

Cole looked at her, then at Dick, who nodded at him. "Okay, I'm happy to go down to the beach. I was afraid it was part of my restriction, but I guess not."

"Oh, it is," Dick said as Veronica and Cole went out the back door, "but someone has to make sure she stays out of trouble and it's your turn."

"Oh yeah, that's hilarious, Dick," Veronica said, grinning encouragingly at both men as she closed the French doors behind her.

* * *

Dick shook his head as the French doors closed. Veronica peered through the glass for a moment, smiling at him, and then disappeared. He shook his head again and went to sit on the couch. He looked up at Logan who was still standing, staring at the back door.

"Well, your boss said we needed to talk. You don't have to thank me any more. Veronica was where she was yesterday because she was trying to protect Cole and Callie. I couldn't just stand around down at Trevor's house waiting to see if anything happened. I had to help."

Logan had turned to face him at his first words, and had sat at the table as Dick spoke. He looked nervous; he ran his hand over his head when he first sat, gripped the back of his neck, and then pressed both hands against the table, like he was trying to hold them still.

"Have you ever considered one of the fidget-spinner things?" Dick asked.

"What?" Logan laced his fingers together. "Look, Dick, I already apologized to Cole, and I need to tell you too. I'm sorry I didn't give Cole more credit for being the good kid I knew he was. I overreacted and jumped to the wrong conclusion. I also need to let you know that I'm still upset about what you did...to Veronica at that party. I think I always be to a certain extent, but I know it was a long time ago, and I know you weren't trying to hurt her, and I know I did things that night, most of that year really, that contributed to her being hurt as well. I told Veronica that I've gotta live with myself even knowing what I did, so I can live with knowing what you did."

Dick looked away, feeling the break between them like a knife. "I'm glad you can live with it, but I don't need you to be here, suffering with what we both did and resenting me for making you remember. You're the best friend I've ever had, the best brother, but you coming around just to make Veronica happy that she hasn't come between us isn't enough. She'll get over it, but I don't think I can see you when I know it's only for her sake and that you'd rather be anywhere else."

A small smile played at Logan's face for the first time since Veronica had left the house. "Are you breaking up with me, Dick?"

"I'm letting you off the hook. If you don't want to be here, you shouldn't be. It's not making anything better. I think it might even make it worse. So why don't you go down to the beach with Veronica and when she's ready to go, you can just go. I don't need you here, being my pretend friend, just to make her happy." He stood up. "I'm gonna go back to my room. I'll see you around." He turned and headed for his room.

"Dick, no, you've got it wrong." Logan stood also, starting to follow him and Dick stopped. "Look, things are still...a little tense here, between us. I think that's going to be the case for a while still, but I don't want them to stay like that. I want us to be able to move past this. You have been the best friend I've ever had, and the closest thing to a brother. When I was a kid, that's how I thought of Duncan, like he was my brother. But when I needed him, he was never there. _You_ have always been there. Whenever I needed you. Veronica's right that you're the one who kept me alive when I was at the lowest point in my life. I can't just forget about that. I don't want to."

"You're my friend because you owe me. No thanks, I'm good with your thank you." He turned away again.

"Dammit, Dick, no. Yes, I owe you, but I just want us to be able to be friends again. Can you at least try?"

Dick stayed facing away, eyes squeezed shut, not sure what he believed. "For real? You really want us to be friends like before?" He took a deep breath and turned back. "This isn't just so Veronica stops harping on you to make up with me?"

"No, it's not, I swear." Logan held up his hand, like he was taking an oath. "Shockingly, she really does want us to make up, but she isn't bullying me into it. I know you think I'm whipped, but—"

"Oh, you are, no question about that."

"—this thing here, about our friendship, she's not pressuring me to do anything. She wants me to get over it on my own. And what you've done lately, it's been a huge start to that process. I'm not promising that things will be completely the same, for a while at least, but I'm willing to do what I can to get back there, if you want that too."

The weight on Dick's shoulders seemed to slip away at Logan's earnest words. "I do want that."

Logan nodded, a tight smile on his face. "Good."

Dick stepped back toward him. "Is this where we share a manly hug?"

Logan's smile spread to his eyes. "Mmm, maybe we can hold off on that for a little bit." Dick barked out a laugh.

"Your loss, man. But it's okay, cuz I've got someone new to hug." He walked back toward Logan, clapping his hand on his shoulder as he passed. "Come on, let's get down to the beach. I don't know if Cole can keep Veronica from finding trouble."

"What are you talking about? Someone new to hug? What does that even mean?" Logan turned with him toward the door. "We weren't not talking for that long. Did you find someone new to console you while I was avoiding you?"

"Not someone new, just someone new for purposes of hugging. Kissing too. Any further actions are still to be determined." He looked back at Logan as he opened the door onto the deck. "Actually, it's good to have you back. I think I need some advice. I really don't want to screw this one up."


	25. Chapter 25

_This chapter probably has more detailed smut than any of the other chapters. It's not smut-a-thon-worthy but I thought I should probably include a warning so no one is caught off guard._

* * *

Veronica heard the knock on the front door and hurried to open it. "I like dinner guests who actually bring the dinner," she said with a welcoming grin.

Dick and Cole stood in the doorway, Cole with two pizza boxes and Dick with a carryout bag that she assumed contained cheesecake eggrolls. "We just do what we're told, Ronnie," Dick said as she stood back to usher them inside. "Logan wanted pizza from Cho's so we got pizza from Cho's."

"I was joking when I told you that, you know. You really didn't have to bring the food," Veronica said. "I could have stopped on the way home from the office." She led the way into the apartment.

"You guys both slaved away at work all day. We didn't go anywhere until it was time to come over here. It was no problem to pick up some pizza," Dick replied. He placed the bag on the island counter and Cole put the pizzas on the table.

"So restriction's still going strong, huh?" Veronica asked Cole. "Otherwise, I'd expect you to be at the beach or the skate park all day."

"Yes," Cole huffed. "Everyone's still on restriction, pretty much until the end of the summer. Callie can go to work and that's it, and her parents drive her. Trevor can't go anywhere. Dad won't even let me go outside and surf."

"Yes, that's pretty much how it works," Veronica said. She patted Dick on the back. "Good job, Dad."

"Thanks, Ronnie." He looked around the apartment. "Where's Logan and the princess?"

"He took her out for a walk when he got home from work. She's so hyper from being inside all day and Dad said that a little tired but not exhausted would make her more...pliable to the process, I guess. He thought it sounded like she was showing a lot of progress." Under Keith's direction, they'd been working on desensitizing Pony to her aversion to Cole for the last two weeks. Tiny bits of exposure, five minutes at a time to start with, increasing to ten minutes in the second week, with rewards from Logan or Veronica after every encounter. "He also said that we can start trying to get her to take the reward treat from Cole, if she'll get close enough."

"That'd be awesome," Cole said. "She can't stay mad at me forever. I didn't even do anything."

"Yeah, well, once we're done with this bit of training, we're gonna start on her English lessons, so we can just explain this kind of thing to her next time." Cole pouted at Veronica's sarcastic words but Dick laughed.

"She's coming along," Dick said in a reassuring voice. "You just have to be patient."

The sound of the front door opening interrupted any further soothing platitudes. "Cole, sit down at the table so you don't startle her," Veronica said as she turned toward the door. Logan walked in with Pony right beside him, the leash held at a short length, keeping her close.

"Hi there. Did you guys have a good walk?" Veronica moved to meet them, stretching up to greet Logan with a kiss before leaning down to stroke Pony's head.

"Yeah, and she should be in a good mood," Logan replied. "We passed a family with ice cream cones down near the boardwalk and one of the kids lost a scoop off the top pretty much right as we passed. Even on three legs, your dog barely even slowed down; she just sucked that ice cream up off the ground in one bite and kept on going."

"My dog? Why is she my dog?" Veronica asked indignantly and both Dick and Logan laughed.

"Chip off the old block," Dick said.

Veronica sneered at them both, then took Pony's leash from Logan. "I've got her bed in our room so she can stay in there while we all have dinner." She led the dog at heel to where her bed was set up, far enough away from the dining table that Cole's presence shouldn't agitate her. With Pony comfortably stashed away, Veronica walked back to the dining table and joined the rest of the group for dinner.

"I thought Mac was coming with you guys," she said between bites. "She said she'd see me later when she left the office."

"She had to go to her mom and dad's for dinner," Dick answered. "She called right when we were about to leave and said she wouldn't be able to join us. She'll be at your dad's tomorrow though, for his First of July party."

Cole looked at Veronica quizzically. "I don't understand a First of July party. Is that a thing he does?"

"No, it's just that the Fourth is on a Tuesday," Veronica replied. "We're gonna close for the day but Logan's working so if we were going to have a barbecue he could go to, it had to be either the first or the second. First of July rolls off the tongue better. And we can stay out later on a Saturday night."

Cole laughed. "Yeah, that makes sense." He looked at Logan. "Bummer you have to work."

"Yeah, but it's all holiday related stuff and I'm getting to fly so it's all good. Flyovers at a parade in the morning, a ball game in the early afternoon, and then over a festival at the Marina in the early evening."

"That's cool." Cole turned to Dick. "Maybe we can go to one of those things and see Logan fly?"

"That would be fun. Maybe Ronnie and Mac can come along." Dick looked at Veronica who shrugged and nodded.

"Sure, check with her and maybe we'll do that."

When dinner and dessert were finished and cleaned up, they got ready for Pony to join them. Cole sat on the couch, the bag of dog treats beside him, while Logan went in to get Pony.

"Okay, Pony girl, let's go see your good buddy, Cole." Veronica could hear Logan chatting with Pony as they came toward the living room. "I was mad at him too, for a while, but we were wrong and I got over it so you need to too." Veronica ducked her head to hide her chuckle at Logan trying to reason with the dog. "He's sad that you're mad at him and he wants you to be his friend again so I wanna see some real effort here tonight." She couldn't hide her amusement as he segued to a pep talk and snorted a laugh as they came into the room. Pony was not on the leash so she made her three-legged way over to where Dick sat, nosing into him.

"Hey, lil mutt. I'm not the one you're supposed to be cozying up to." He scratched her neck. "I'll pet you but if you want a treat, you gotta go see the kid." Pony flopped on the ground beside him, rolling over to expose her belly. Her casted leg waved as he scratched his foot across her exposed stomach and chest.

"I never did get to sign this thing but it's coming off soon, isn't it?"

"Probably at her next appointment," Veronica said. "Come here, Pony." She patted the side of her leg to get the dog's attention and she scrambled up and came over, immediately collapsing into the same belly-up pose. Veronica complied with what she wanted at first, but then she stood.

"Come on, missy, let's go over to the couch." She moved over and sat beside Cole. Pony followed her, sitting beside her legs on the opposite side from where Cole sat, resting her muzzle on Veronica's knee. She'd stopped growling at Cole after the first week but she still wasn't approaching him.

"Cole? Can I have a treat please?" Veronica held out one hand to him while scratching Pony's head with the other. Cole laid a treat in her palm. "Thanks." She leaned down, getting closer to Pony. "Wanna treat, Pone?" The dog's tail thumped on the ground. "Okay, here you go." She sat back, putting the chewy snack on her leg next to Pony's muzzle. The dog rocked her head to the side to scarf down the treat.

"Mmm, was that yummy?" Pony's tail continued to thump. "Well, if you want more..." Veronica turned her head slightly toward Cole and spoke in a lower tone. "Open the bag, in a way she notices, rattle it around when you do it. Then take out a treat, make sure she sees it, and lay it on your leg like I did. Then lean back a little so you don't seem as big to her."

Cole nodded and did as instructed. Pony's head raised off Veronica's leg as he opened the bag with a rattling flourish. He pulled out a treat and held it between his fingers, moving his hand in circles that Pony's eyes followed. After a moment, he placed the snack on his leg as Veronica had and leaned back.

Veronica watched Pony try to decide what to do. Her eyes flicked back and forth between the treat on Cole's leg and Veronica, then she whimpered and nudged Veronica's leg.

"Hey, I'm all out," Veronica said, holding up her empty hands. "You want a treat, there it is." She poked at Cole's knee, then grimaced. "Sorry," she whispered.

He chuckled and whispered back, "S'okay."

Pony whined, then stood and moved slowly around Veronica's legs to where Cole sat. Her head darted forward and she snatched the treat off Cole's knee, then retreated behind Veronica again.

"Good job, Pony girl," Veronica praised, stroking the dog's head. "You remember Cole; he's your friend. He's not going to hurt you. And, look, he's got all the treats, so if you want more, you're gonna have to be his friend again." She looked sideways at Cole. "Try sitting on the floor and giving her another treat. Maybe that'll be less intimidating."

Cole again did as instructed, sliding onto the ground, his legs spread out in front of him. He took another dog snack out of the bag and set it on his leg. With only a moment's hesitation, Pony was next to him again, whisking the treat off his leg. She only took a step back this time, before settling onto her haunches, her eyes fixed on him.

"Hey, Pony," Cole said in a low, wheedling voice. Her ears twitched forwards. "You remember me, right? Your buddy, Cole? I sure miss having you hang out with me at my house. Wanna 'nother treat?" He held the chew out to her in the palm of his hand this time.

Veronica didn't want to laugh and startle the dog, but it was hard to keep it inside as she watched Pony try to decide what to do. Her doggie eyebrows rose and fell in an alternating pattern as she studied Cole.

"Come on, girl, I'm not gonna hurt you," Cole coaxed again and she stood up and stepped closer to him, then lipped the treat out of his hand. She didn't move away this time and Cole turned his hand to stroke her neck. She looked at him, then stepped closer and lay down next to his leg.

"All right," Dick said in a low voice. "Balance has been restored to the universe."

Veronica looked up at Logan, watching as he smiled fondly at Cole and Pony. "It looks like it."

* * *

Logan held the door open and Veronica ducked under his arm to step into her dad's house. They were both weighed down with their contributions to the First of July barbecue.

"It's about time you guys showed up," Mac chastised from the kitchen where she was working on what looked like some kind of dip. "Wallace has been whining about where his snickerdoodles are since he got here."

"Let's tell him Logan ate them all," Veronica said in a teasing voice, even as she dropped the large box filled with cookies on the counter.

"No, you better not. Do not involve me in your BFF shenanigans. He only started tolerating me in the last few months; I don't want you messing that up for me just for a joke." Logan set the soft-sided cooler he was carrying on the counter and started pulling containers out of it.

"You ate some of them," Veronica retorted.

"Of course I ate some, but you made like ten dozen. Wallace can spare a few." Logan pulled the last bowl out of the cooler and moved it off the counter. "Is he outside? I can take him the container."

"No way, he'll eat them all. Leave 'em in here with the other desserts." Veronica carried the box to a table in the corner that held a plate of chocolate chip cookies and two pies. "Who brought the chocolate pie? It looks awesome."

"Wallace's mom brought both pies," Mac said but Veronica had whirled on her before all the words were even out of her mouth.

"Alicia's here?" The grin on her face made Logan smile. "No one told me she was coming." She put the bowl of potato salad in the fridge. "Are they outside? I'm gonna find them. He must be ready to come clean about them dating again." A gleeful laugh erupted from her and she looked at Logan. "Come on, let's go find 'em."

"You go ahead. I'll be out shortly." He shook his head as she practically skipped out the back door.

"That's a girl who wants a stepmom," Mac said, one eyebrow raised. "She must not have been paying attention during Cinderella."

"Or Snow White," Logan added. "I'm not sure it's as much about wanting a stepmom as wanting the news out so she doesn't have to pretend she doesn't know about them anymore."

"It's more than that. I hear them harassing each other at work all day. It's also about having something to tease him with." Mac began to scoop her concoction out of the mixing bowl into a smaller serving dish.

"What is that?" Logan asked.

"It's a vegan-friendly sweet dip, like Cool Whip and strawberry jam mixed together. For dipping fruit." She put the now-empty mixing bowl in the sink and ran water in it. "I hope you're not like Veronica and refuse to eat anything vegan. It's very good."

"Don't tell her it's vegan. She'll eat it." They laughed. "So, if this is Keith and Alicia's coming out party, what about you and Dick?"

Mac closed her eyes and sighed. "What's he told you?"

"Umm, let's see." Logan sat on one of bar stools, leaning back and holding up his fingers to tick off Dick's multitude of statements about Mac. "You're awesome. You're brilliant. You're smokin' hot. You're hilarious. You're kind. You're supportive. You're amazing with Cole." He stopped and smirked at her embarrassed look.

"Apparently you guys are back to normal," Mac said sarcastically. "He's certainly telling you enough."

"It's safe to talk about you," Logan said. "We're still tiptoeing around certain things but he doesn't have any reservations about talking about you. I don't think this is really going to come as a surprise to you, but he's smitten."

Mac's cheeks turned pink. "I do like him, I do, but I'm nervous about where this is going. He acts like he wants something big and permanent, and I'm still trying to decide what I think about that idea. I really am more of a casual dater; it's easier." She frowned at him. "It's weird talking to you about this."

Logan leaned against the counter. "You don't have to, you know, but if you're good with it, so am I."

"It's probably better to talk to you than Veronica. I think she's actually friends with him now, but she still gets a weird look in her eyes when I mention anything about dating him."

Logan laughed and nodded. "That's not a huge surprise. I think there's some stuff she's still adjusting to. But as far as Dick goes, just tell him that you want to slow things down. Even if you decide you want to keep things platonic, he'll be okay with that. He'd rather do that if it means he still gets to be your friend."

"I don't know why he can't just be satisfied with a friends with benefits deal," Mac said and Logan's shocked laugh nearly choked him. "Sorry, TMI, I suppose."

"Maybe a little." He pushed himself off the stool. "Are you done in here? I've gotta go check on Veronica, make sure she's not torturing Keith and Alicia."

Mac chuckled and handed him the bowl of fruit dip. "Yeah, good idea." She turned and picked up a platter of fruit. "Okay, come on then, let's go see what's up."

* * *

Veronica's eyes fluttered open as she stretched, her arms over her head and her toes pointed to the bottom of the bed. She rolled onto her stomach toward Logan, or where Logan should be, but he wasn't there. She patted the mattress next to her but the sheet was cool to the touch so she scooted into the space, snuggling into his pillow and closing her eyes again.

She'd drifted back to sleep, but was wakened again when the mattress dipped beside her. "Up and at 'em, sleepyhead."

"Why? It's still the weekend. Why aren't you still in here with me?" She turned her head to look at him. "Ugh, you're dressed." She flopped onto her back. "Look, not dressed. It's so much better this way."

He laughed and leaned down to kiss her shoulder. "I agree with you, but I get a lot of weird attention when I take the dog outside without getting dressed first."

"Yeah, good call. I don't want to have to take out any of the neighbors for ogling you." She squirmed to an upright position, leaning against the headboard, pulling the sheet up to cover herself. "So why are you waking me up?"

"Your breakfast is ready. So you need to get up, put something on, and come out to have breakfast with me."

Veronica narrowed her eyes at him. "Why do I have to get up to have breakfast? Can't you just bring it in here and we'll have breakfast in bed?"

"Nope, I want to have a conversation and it's too hard to do when we're in here and not dressed. You distract me when things get too—"

"Too what?"

He chuckled and sat down beside her. "Just too." He shrugged. "Too sensitive. Too complicated. Too heavy. Too personal. If we get to a point in a discussion where you don't want to continue, it's way too easy for you to wriggle away from the conversation if we're in bed."

"Like you've never played that card before." She knew exactly what he was saying, and she knew he was right, but she wasn't going to let him get away without acknowledging that he was guilty of the same tactic.

"I'm not claiming that," he said with a smirk. "We have remarkably similar distraction techniques, at least where each other are concerned." He leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "So now that we've reached an understanding about how we manipulate each other, can you just do what I'm asking? I realized some things yesterday at your dad's party, and I wanted to talk to you about them. Without getting sidetracked." He kissed her again, then stood and walked to the bedroom door. As he stepped into the hallway, he looked back at her with a teasing grin. "Get up or I'm eating all the breakfast."

Veronica stared at the empty doorway for a minute after he'd disappeared. He wasn't overly serious, so it didn't seem like he had anything bad to talk about, but he seemed pretty sure that whatever the conversation was about, she was going to want a way out of it before they were done.

"Bacon's getting cold," Logan called and she smiled as she got out of bed. If he wanted to talk bad enough that he'd try to ply her with bacon, then she'd talk. And eat bacon.

* * *

"Coffee?"

Logan held up a mug as Veronica entered the room. She nodded and came to stand next to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Thanks for doing this. Everything smells great." She rose on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Dressed Veronica, reporting for conversation. And bacon."

He laughed and caught her chin, pulling her mouth to his for an actual kiss. "Don't worry, you'll get to eat. This isn't supposed to be a painful conversation, just one I'd like us to actually finish before anyone's shirt comes back off."

She tilted her head, studying his face. "But when we're done, shirts _will_ be coming off? How about pants?"

Logan lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Maybe. We'll see." He leaned down for another quick peck on the lips. "Right now, go sit down. I'll be right there."

She nodded and went to the table, sitting down and watching as he pulled something out of the oven. "I smell bacon, but I don't see any. I don't actually see anything. What are you feeding me?"

He moved around the island with a serving platter in his hands. "Scrambled eggs and bacon." He placed the dish on the table, then turned back to the kitchen. "And, the finishing touch—" he reached into the oven again and held up a baking dish "—cinnamon rolls."

"You baked?" she said, incredulous. He carried the dish over and placed it next to the platter.

"Yeah, in a manner of speaking, I guess. They're just the refrigerator ones. The hardest part was getting the tube open without gouging up the rolls inside." Veronica laughed.

"That's true. They look good though. Nice frosting distribution." She smirked up at him. "Poppin' Fresh would be proud."

"We'll see." He sat down beside her. "Let's see how they taste."

"You can't mess 'em up, unless you burned them." She frowned. "You didn't burn them, did you?"

He laughed and shook his head as he dished out the eggs. "I don't think so. Bigger risk is that they're still gooey."

"That's okay." She took a sip of coffee. "They're good gooey."

"We should be fine then." He put a roll on each of their plates. "Want one or two?"

"What do you think?" He laughed again and put another roll on her plate, then a tangle of bacon. "Looks good, Logan."

"Thanks." He sat back in his chair and lifted his mug. "Shall we make a toast?"

"Sure." She raised her mug to tap gently against his. "To the Pillsbury Doughboy. Making fancy breakfast possible for spoiled rich boys everywhere."

Logan scoffed but drank anyway. "I was thinking of something slightly more personal, but I guess that works."

She raised her mug again. "Okay, go ahead. Hit me."

"That's all right, just eat before everything gets cold."

Veronica nodded and dug in. He'd done a great job. The eggs were moist and cheesy, the bacon was the right amount of crispy without being hard and crunchy, and the rolls were just right. "Everything's great, Logan," she said between mouthfuls. "Thank you for the wonderful breakfast."

"You're welcome. Glad it worked out." He took a bite of eggs, then rested his fork on his plate. "So, you seemed pretty happy when your dad and Alicia finally came clean yesterday." He took another sip of coffee.

She nodded, smiling with her lips pressed together as she finished her bite of cinnamon roll. "I was. I am. He's been alone so long. I'm glad he's got someone to be with again." She reached out to stroke Logan's arm. "I just want him to be happy with someone, like we are. I know it's important to be happy with yourself first; I think we both know that you can't really be a good partner unless you're happy on your own too, but I think that he is, and I'm glad he's able to share his life with someone again."

Logan nodded. "I agree with you. So many of our problems, especially that year at Hearst, were because we were still trying to figure out who we wanted to be, and how to live with all the curve balls life had been throwing at us for years."

"Yeah, the curve balls had some lasting effects that we didn't really deal with all that well."

"More like, didn't deal with at all. We just wanted them to go away so we could move on, but major, life-changing traumas don't always cooperate." He caught her hand in his and raised it to his mouth to kiss the back of it. "I think we've done a good job of figuring out our stuff now though. I'm not saying everything's perfect, but I don't think we should be putting our lives on hold waiting for that perfection. We might wait forever if we try doing that."

Veronica placed her fork carefully on her plate and turned toward him. She could feel the intensity coming off him in waves and realized the 'too' conversation had begun without her realizing it. "I don't think we've been on hold. We're happy in our lives together, aren't we? We're engaged, we're living together, we've got a dog. This feels like a life to me. What do you think we're waiting for?"

"I think we should get married," he said. She straightened in surprise, but he didn't release her hand. Instead he traced his finger around her engagement ring. "I mean, that's what getting engaged is about, right? But we haven't even talked about a date. I don't want to just be engaged anymore; I want to be married to you. I want to introduce you as my wife. I want to wake up in the morning and see you next to me and think 'wife'. I know that sounds stupid, but I don't want to wait anymore."

"You don't have plane tickets to Vegas booked already, do you?" Veronica asked, scooting her chair closer to his. "Getting married by Elvis does have a tiny bit of guilty pleasure appeal, but I think it would mean a little more if we maybe did it on the beach?" She laughed as Logan's shock showed on his face: mouth ajar with raised eyebrows and slow, deliberate blinks.

"You're willing to get married? Soon?"

"Logan, do you not remember that I asked you?" She reached out to stroke his face. "And the proposal, if we can actually call it that, came about when I was talking about what our wedding should be like. Of course I'm willing."

"Before your birthday." He had seemed hesitant before, but now his voice was determined. "Would that work for you?"

"That gives us about six weeks but that should be enough time. For me at least. Would you be able get leave to get married and go on a honeymoon in that time? I would expect you to take me someplace exotic, for a couple of weeks at least. There needs to be a benefit to marrying someone filthy rich."

He laughed and pulled her into his lap. "I think I can make the necessary arrangements." He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him securely as he nuzzled into her hair. "Geez, that was so much easier than I had expected it to be."

"You thought I was going to refuse? If you thought that, what prompted you to go on the offensive all of a sudden?"

"Not refuse, just have a lot of reasons why there was no hurry. Your dad said something yesterday about wasting time. He was looking at Alicia, but it made me think of all the time we lost, and I didn't want to lose anymore."

She sat back so she could look at his face. "I don't feel like we've been losing time. No, we're not married but that doesn't change how we feel. This time isn't wasted, not as far as I'm concerned. Do you think it is?"

"No, no, that's not what I mean. But it is time I could be married to you and I'm not." He looked at her earnestly. "I just want us to be married."

She smiled and cupped her hand around the back of his neck, pulling him closer. "Then let's get married, Logan."

They were both smiling as their mouths came together, and the kiss felt light and happy at first, but it quickly transformed into something deeper and more serious. When Logan's arms moved to lift her in a bridal carry, she tightened her arms around his neck as he stood, but didn't stop kissing him. She could feel that they were nearly to their bedroom when he stopped walking and pulled his mouth from hers.

"Dammit, I wasn't done talking."

She laughed up at him. "So much for that plan. We can get totally dressed, but once we start kissing, it's just a matter of time."

He sighed and shook his head as he started to head toward the bedroom again. "Okay, well, I'll just tell you what else I wanted to talk about. Maybe it'll go as smoothly as the first topic." They entered the bedroom and he set her on the end of the bed. "I want us to buy a house. This apartment is fine but we need more space. And I'd really like something nearer the beach. Another benefit of marrying the filthy rich...we can afford someplace nice."

"Not up in your old neighborhood. That's more than I think I'd be comfortable with." He sat next to her, nodding.

"No, I'm not talking about that level of monstrosity. More like one of the neighborhoods like Dick's. I'd love to have beach access like that, and those houses aren't too gigantic."

Veronica raised an eyebrow at him. "If you move this real estate thing along fast enough, maybe we can get married on our own beach." His mouth dropped open again.

"Really?"

She shrugged. "Why not? That's probably cutting it pretty tight, time wise, but even if escrow isn't closed yet, maybe the seller will agr—" He cut her off with another kiss. She climbed into his lap on her own this time, her knees against the mattress as she straddled him. She pressed down into him, feeling him hard against her, and let her head fall to the side as he kissed down to the crook of her neck.

They rocked together as the kissing went on as it had since they were seventeen. Veronica had a surprisingly coherent thought as Logan lifted his head long enough to pull her tee shirt off. _After all this time, how does he still make me feel like this?_ Then he cupped her breasts and dropped his head back down to mouth at her collarbone, and the thought floated away as she pressed her hips against his.

When Logan moved his hands from where they'd been teasing her nipples and grabbed her ass to flip her onto her back, she was more than ready to move to the next level. She scooted up toward the head of the bed on her elbows as she watched him undress. He followed her up the mattress, stopping to pull her yoga pants and panties off, then stretching out beside her, his arm bent to rest his head against his hands as he gazed down at her.

"I should have known we couldn't get through this conversation without getting naked again," he said as he ran his fingers from the hollow of her throat, between her breasts and down her stomach. He twirled his fingers around her naval, then slipped down into her wet folds. His mouth closed over her breast as his fingers slid inside her.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, trying not to sound breathless. "We've nearly picked a wedding date and I agreed to let you buy the house you want." She whimpered as her pelvis jerked involuntarily into the ministrations of his hand. His other hand combed into her hair and he raised his head from her breast and moved up to brush a soft kiss across her lips.

"Kids. I want us to have kids." He continued to slide his fingers inside her as he stroked her with his thumb. "I've been avoiding the topic because I was afraid you'd say no and I didn't want to hear that. But you surprised me with your response to the other two topics so I want to get this one out in the open also. In case we're not as far apart on the subject as I've been thinking."

"And you broach it while doing your best to make me very agreeable," she gasped. "Tricky, Echolls, very tricky."

"I can stop," he said with a smirk, stilling his hand, but she huffed in irritation and pressed hard against him.

"Not if you know what's good for you." He obliged her, fingers moving against her again and she reached up, grasping his shoulder to pull his mouth back down to hers. "That's better."

* * *

Logan woke with a start, feeling eyes on him. His cheek was pressed against the mattress and he could feel Veronica partially beneath him, their legs tangled together, and his arm resting across her body, his hand gripping hers tightly, their fingers laced together. He opened the eye not crushed against the mattress and saw her looking over at him with an amused smile.

"Is this what I have to look forward to now that I've actually agreed to this married life? You barely finish and you pass out before you even climb off me?" He raised his head and started to apologize, but she lifted her free hand to cover his mouth. "I'm kidding. You outdid yourself there. If you needed a two minute nap after that kind of performance, you can have it. Whatever it takes to encourage more of that."

"Two minutes?" He knew he still wasn't entirely conscious, but he could finally feel his other arm and he used it to prop himself onto his side as he continued to assess himself and his surroundings.

"Uh huh, I don't think it was much more than that. Long enough for my heart rate to get mostly back to normal. I'm not surprised. With the lack of blood and oxygen getting to _your_ brain, it's not all that surprising that you shut down for a minute." She maneuvered her legs, still wrapped around his, and pushed her hand against his chest, somehow managing to roll him onto his back, moving with him so she ended up stretched on top of him, her forearms bracing her so she was looking down at him.

"You've got a little something..." He brushed his thumb over a dark smudge high on her breast. She looked down and rolled her eyes.

"Probably not the only one." She shifted to straddle him again, pulling her knees to rest against his sides and pushing herself upright. As predicted, there was another hickey to the lower left of one nipple and another on the upper right of the other.

"It's almost like parentheses," he said, squinting as he curved his hands in the air. "I don't think I did that on purpose, but the pattern is remarkably symmetrical."

She snorted a laugh. "I guess I should be glad you didn't chew your initials into me." She raised her hands to lift her hair off her neck. "No marks up here, I hope."

He peered up at her, enjoying the view. "Nope. Only marks on you can be covered adequately with clothing."

"Good thing. I do not need to listen to Dad or Wallace, or Dick for that matter, on this subject. Do we understand each other?"

"Whatever it takes to not have to talk about your Dad or Wallace or Dick at a time like this." He rested his hands on her hips and she lowered her hands, tracing them along the planes of his abs. "So, my brain's still a little fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure we agreed to get married sometime in the next six weeks, whenever I can arrange enough leave for a good honeymoon."

She nodded, her lips pressed together tightly, but with one corner raised enough for him to know she wasn't upset by the discussion. "That is pretty much what we agreed to, yes."

"And you also agreed to a house, on the beach, not in the exclusive 09'er neighborhoods, and that if we can move fast enough on that, maybe we can get married there."

"Fuzzy or not, your brain seems to have all the details right."

"And I brought up one more topic."

She raised one eyebrow. "Did you? I don't really remember any other discussion."

"There wasn't any discussion yet; you threatened my life if I didn't continue with my future husbandly duties."

"Ohh, yes, I do remember that." Her cheeks colored slightly and he could see she was struggling not to smile. "You did an outstanding job there. You seem quite ready to be a future husband."

"I'm inspired by my future wife." She chuckled and stretched her palms flat against his torso. "So, how about it? We've got the future husband and wife thing dialed. What do you think about future mom and dad?"

Her thumbs rubbed back and forth across his skin. "That one's a little scarier."

"Yeah, but I think it would be worth it." He sat up and shifted them up on the bed so he could lean against the headboard and look directly into her eyes. "I think we need to be conscientious about timing and wait until after my next deployment. I don't want to miss anything if I don't have to and I don't want to leave you to rely on other people to go with you to appointments, or help you breathe, or whatever else there is that I want to be doing with you. But once I'm home..."

"Once you're home." She broke their gaze, staring down at his chest. Logan waited, not wanting to pressure her. After a moment, she looked up again. "Okay. When you leave for the next deployment, I'll go off the birth control and by the time you're back, it should be out of my system. Then we can...see what happens."

"Really?" He couldn't contain his grin. "You're agreeing? That in about a year, when I'm back home again, we'll start trying to have a baby. Really?"

"I said I would," she said, voice a little peevish this time. "I don't go back on my promises."

"I would never suggest any such thing." He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against him. "Thank you. For agreeing...to everything today. I was so nervous. I want all these things with you, but I'm never sure—"

"I want all these things with you too. I never did want them, before, but being back with you, and making it work this time, I think...hey, maybe I can have them after all." She squirmed and he loosened his arms to give her the space he knew she wanted. "So? Should we get dressed and go look for houses for sale? Maybe you can convince Dick's next-door-neighbor to move."

"No, not that neighborhood, there's another one a little further toward town that's got a better beach. If anything, if we move there, he'll probably try to get our next-door-neighbors to move." He tucked her hair behind her ear. "And I'm not quite ready to go out yet. We practiced our future husband and wifing already, but maybe a little more practice for when we get down to baby-making." He rolled to the side, stretching out on the mattress again as he hovered above her.

"Pretty sure those are all the same things," Veronica said in a scornful tone, but she rocked up to meet him and wrapped her legs around his hips as he slid inside her.

"Context is everything," he said. "At some point, we should practice quickies for when we've managed to get the kids distracted and have a spare moment to ourselves."

"This will not be that time."

He laughed and rolled onto his back, smiling in appreciation as he watched her move deliberately above him, eyes closed and brow furrowed in concentration.

"Whatever makes you happy is fine with me. I love you."

Her eyes popped open and she leaned over to kiss him. "I love you, too."

* * *

 _So that's a wrap on this story. I've got a couple of epilogue thoughts rattling around in my head that might make a (probably) short chapter for next week so I'm not putting the conclusion mark on this one quite yet._

 _However, since the story itself is done, I want to make sure to thank KMD0107 for everything she's done for me over the course of this story and over the last 2 years that I've been writing VM fanfic. This chapter is my 97th week of posting in a row and she has been a big factor in making it possible for me to stay on my crazy self-imposed schedule. I appreciate her more than I can possibly express._

 _I'd also like to shout out to Kayte76, who has become my biggest cheerleader in the last year or so. She also keeps me going, with moral support and encouragement, and has become a great friend._

 _Thanks to everyone else who has read and commented. You make this craziness worthwhile._


	26. Chapter 26

_Sorry for making you wait for this final chapter - it started out in one time frame and then the fact of the holidays sunk in and I moved it a little._

 _I took a little inspiration from the list of prompts on the VMHQ holiday prompt list, even though this can't go into the collection. Tiny spoiler - the prompt was the one about LoVe family decorating the Christmas tree or baking holiday treats or making snowmen. No snowmen in Neptune but a touch of both of the others._

* * *

 **December 2021**

"Hellooo! Anyone home?"

Veronica bolted out of the kitchen to the entryway, nearly colliding with Cole in the doorway.

"For the love of all that is holy, please keep it down," she stage-whispered, then threw her arms around him. "Welcome home."

He hugged her back. "Thanks, it's good to be back."

She pulled away to smile at him. "Did you just get here? Your dad said you were flying in tomorrow."

"I wanted to surprise him but there's no one at home. I figured Mac was at work but I thought Dad would be here. His car's in the garage."

"You're right about Mac. I haven't gone back to work full time yet so Dad's been keeping her busy." She stepped out of the embrace and headed back for the kitchen. "Come on, I was working on a lasagna for dinner tomorrow but it looks like we can have it tonight since you're back already. So anyway, your dad was here, but he and Logan went out for another flying lesson. I'm not sure he's actually learning anything but Logan likes getting the chance to go up. He misses the flying since he retired."

"Yeah, I kinda think Dad is just humoring him with these lessons. He talks about being able to fly himself back and forth to see me at school, but I'll believe it when I see it."

Veronica laughed. "You and me both. I keep telling Logan that if he is serious about becoming a flight instructor, this is his ultimate test. If he can teach Dick to fly a plane, he can teach anyone." She returned to the counter where she'd been working before he showed up. "So, tell me how sophomore year is going while I finish up with dinner. Are you hungry? There's stuff for sandwiches in the fridge."

"No, I bribed the Lyft guy with lunch to get him to go through the drive-through at In-N-Out." Cole sat at one of the island stools across from Veronica. "I've been craving a Double-Double and Animal Fries for the last month. I know Wallace is always saying how lucky I am that there are White Castles in St. Louis but I want my In-N-Out."

"Yeah, I remember that from when I was living in New York. And good Mexican food. That was really hard to find. But you were home for Thanksgiving like three weeks ago. How bad can a craving get in three weeks?"

Cole shrugged. "Dunno what to tell you. It was like being home made me miss it more." He looked around the room. "So, I'm guessing someone's sleeping since you shut me up so quick. How's my newest cousin?"

"He's not a huge fan of naps. So when he does go down, we try to avoid anything that'll mess that up." Veronica grinned at him. " _Your_ biggest fans are in the playroom though. And I suspect that when they see you, there won't be any containing that noise and the baby will be waking up."

"Is that okay? I haven't seen any of them for three weeks; I miss 'em."

"They miss you too. Go on in. I'm almost done here; I'll get the baby if he wakes up and bring him in."

Cole grinned and stood, then bounded down the hall toward the extra bedroom that had become the playroom. Veronica covered the lasagna and put it in the fridge, laughing at the predicted uproar of little girl shrieks and excited dog barks. She made her way to the nursery and slipped inside quietly, closing the door behind her to minimize the impact of the noisy reunion going on a few doors away. As she reached the crib, she realized that closing the door didn't matter.

"Well, hey there, boo, how was the nap?" She smiled down at the dark-eyed infant looking up at her, gurgling and kicking his feet against the mattress. "Do you remember your cousin, Cole? He's here to see us. You met him at Thanksgiving. Of course, you were only, like, seven weeks old so you might have forgotten." She reached into the crib and lifted him out, snuggling him against her. "Shall we get a new diaper before we go see him? I think that sounds like a good idea."

She carried the baby to the changing table, continuing to chat with him, responding to his vocal outbursts as if they were having a conversation. She kissed his feet to make him laugh, then tucked them back into his footed sleeper.

"Okay, let's go see if the playroom is still standing. Your sister sounds pretty excited down there."

She walked down the hallway, toward the sound of playful noise, stopping at the playroom door as she tried not to laugh out loud.

Cole was sitting on the floor, back against the recliner the family used for snuggling together to read. Pony was sprawled next to him, her front legs and head resting across his legs. A Santa hat had been tugged firmly onto his head and in front of him, hopping excitedly from foot to foot, was the tiniest blonde in the house. She was chattering nonstop while Cole smiled and nodded at her.

"Go now? You here. Mama said we wait you."

"I don't think we can go right now, Morgan. Probably it'll be tomorrow, or maybe even the weekend—"

The toddler spotted Veronica in the doorway and dashed toward her, throwing her arms around Veronica's legs. "Mama! Cole here!"

"I know, I sent him in here to see you." Veronica inched into the room as best she could with a smaller than average two-and-a-half year old wrapped around her legs and an off-the-charts two month old in her arms. "He came home a day early so it looks like we'll be able to go see Santa Claus tomorrow."

"Yay!" Morgan cheered, jumping up and down in delight, right on Veronica's foot. "Spencer too?"

"Yes, Spencer too." She managed to cross the room to Cole, handing the baby to him. "Although we talked about this already; he can't tell Santa what he wants, so—"

"I help! I tell Santa everything." Morgan looked over her shoulder at Cole holding her baby brother and released Veronica to climb onto him. Veronica pressed her lips together as she again concealed her amusement, this time at her jealous daughter, but Cole managed to tuck Spencer into the crook of one arm and Morgan into the other with the only casualty being Pony, who was forced further down his legs to lay across his knees to make room.

"So, what do you think he wants Santa to bring him, Morgan?" he asked as Veronica fished her phone out of her pocket to snap a picture of the cozy little group before texting it to Mac. _Look who showed up a day early. Don't tell Dick._

"He wants...a scooter and...a dollhouse...and a tramp'ine." Veronica snorted as Morgan's words soaked in. The list that she was ascribing to her baby brother sounded an awful lot like the one she'd been telling anyone who would listen over the last couple of weeks. Cole looked equally dubious at her suggestions.

"Are you sure?" He shifted his arm and tilted his head to bring the baby up to his ear and Spencer cooperated perfectly with a loud squawk. "Uh huh, that sounds more like it." Cole shifted the baby back into a more supported position in his lap. "He says no scooter this year; he wants a basketball hoop to hang over his crib."

"That sounds like Uncle Wallace's dream gift," Veronica said with a laugh, but Morgan continued.

"Scooter too." She emphasized her insistent tone with crossed arms and a pout.

"He's too little to walk, Morgie, how's he going to use a scooter?"

She scrunched up her nose at Cole's logic, a frown on her face. "He learn."

"True. But maybe you can ask for a scooter for you and we'll let Spencer ask for his own in a year or two?"

Veronica stifled another laugh as her daughter rolled her eyes and said begrudgingly, "Fine."

 _If she's mastered this attitude at two, God help us when she's a teenager._

Her phone vibrated and she looked down at Mac's responding text. _OMG they're cute. I'll come over right after work, probably by 5._

"So, why don't I take Spencer and you guys can play for a while," Veronica suggested. "Aunt Mac should be here around 5:00 PM and Daddy and Uncle Dick will be home by 5:30 PM. Hey, Morgs, you can surprise Uncle Dick with Cole when they get here. Find a spot to hide him." She reached for the baby but Cole shook his head.

"Spencer can have a tea party with us, right, Morgie?" He looked up at Veronica. "Are you letting him drink out of a bottle yet? If you'll make one up, we can all play. You must have something you need to do."

"Actually..." Veronica considered all of the things that needed doing to get ready for dinner—now tonight instead of tomorrow—and the holiday in general. Having Cole back was certainly useful. He'd been her best babysitter ever since Morgan had been born. His move to St. Louis for school had been hard for a lot of reasons, not the least of which had been her daughter's favorite companion no longer living only two doors away. Dick had been unsuccessful in buying either of the houses next to them when they'd moved into their home but he'd managed to become their almost-next door neighbor after almost a year of offers and that had made using Cole for babysitting even easier.

"...yes, he's doing both with no issues, nursing and drinking from a bottle," Veronica finally responded, "and I think he'd love to go to your tea party. What do you think, Morgan?"

"Snickerdoos?" Morgan asked hopefully and both Veronica and Cole laughed.

"As a matter of fact, yes, we do have Snickerdoodles," Veronica answered. "Come on, little miss, we'll go get the party fixings." She held her hand out to Morgan, who jumped to her feet, then Veronica raised her eyebrows at Cole. "You boys and Pony will be fine in here, I presume."

Cole bumped Pony off his legs, then pulled his knees up and leaned the baby against his raised thighs. "You bet, we will, huh, little buddy?"

"Okay, then, Miss Morgan, let's get you set up to host the tea party of the season."

* * *

Repetitive bouncing was the first thing to break through her sleep. The next was her daughter's persistent voice. "Wake up wake up wake up."

Veronica groaned as the jumping continued around where she and Logan lay spooned together in the center of their California King. She leaned back to press more tightly against him and he hid his face in her hair. "Your daughter is up," he murmured in her ear.

"I noticed," she mumbled back. In a louder voice, she addressed the hopping beastie on the bed. "Morgan, it's still dark outside. Why are you up already?"

"Santa Claus today, Mama!" The bouncing stopped and Veronica opened her eyes to see her excited little girl sitting cross-legged next to her. "Up please."

"Santa's still in his own bed, Morgan," Logan said, his voice muffled. "You need to be in yours."

"It's not time to get up yet, sweetie," Veronica added. "I'll come with you back to your room and tuck you in and when it _is_ morning, then we can get up and go see Santa. Okay?"

"Pretty soon?" The hopeful little voice made Veronica smile.

"Once you go to sleep, it'll feel like pretty soon. Now, come on, let's get you back to bed." Veronica gave Morgan a small push to get her going, then scooted away from Logan.

"Hurry back, Mom," he said in a teasing voice. "I've got just the thing to help you get back to sleep."

Veronica looked back at him and scoffed at his sleepy, but still leering, grin. "What you're thinking about doesn't generally put me to sleep."

"Good thing. That'd probably hurt my feelings." He rolled onto his back. "I'll be right here, waiting to not put you to sleep."

"Come on, Mama." Morgan grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the door. "Sweet dreams, Daddy."

"You too, sweetheart. See you in the real morning."

A few minutes later, Morgan was again tucked into her own bed and Veronica headed back to the master bedroom. Logan was still on his back, but she was pretty sure he'd been up because the pajama pants he'd had on could now be seen dropped along the foot of the bed. Pajamas had never been a thing for him before and Veronica mostly wore sleepwear to create interest in not sleeping, but once Morgan could get out of her bed and into theirs, there had been some changes in the Echolls' bedroom habits and some form of nightclothes was one of their primary adjustments.

Veronica tiptoed in to use the bathroom and brush her teeth, then went back to climb into bed. She snuggled up beside Logan, resting her head on his chest.

"You're finally back." He sounded groggy, but his arms came up around her and pulled her more tightly against him.

"I wasn't gone very long," she teased, "but it looks like you're ready to sleep until morning. I'm sure Morgan will let us know when that time comes."

"I'd bet that Spencer lets us know before she does," he answered, his voice more alert.

"You're probably right so that's a bet I'm not taking. We've probably got less than an hour before he's going to want to eat."

"I guess we better get busy then." The arms wrapped around her shifted and suddenly her body was stretched along his. "We don't have much time."

* * *

"Gramma! Grampa!" Morgan's shriek as she barreled toward Keith and Alicia made Veronica and Logan snicker, Dick cover his ears, and Cole startle. Spencer, having tummy time beside the lit Christmas tree, was used to his sister's excited outbursts and never stopped reaching for Pony's feet, which kept moving just beyond his grasp.

"Aww, there's my demure little god daughter." Veronica laughed at Mac's dry tone as she walked in from the kitchen. She paused next to Logan, sitting on the floor next to the baby, and handed him a bottle of water.

"Trade ya." Logan nodded and Mac plucked the baby up off the floor, then carried him to the couch where Dick sat, and sat down beside him. Veronica watched them fuss over Spencer for a moment before Morgan's voice caught her attention again.

"Didja bring it?" Morgan stood with an arm around both Keith and Alicia's legs, looking up at them. Her volume had decreased but her excitement had not. She'd barely been able to contain herself through the early part of the evening as Logan and Cole put the lights on the tree and she waited for Keith and Alicia to arrive. Grampa and Gramma had given her a Christmas ornament every year since she was born, and Morgan wanted the new one to be the first ornament, besides the lights, to be placed on this year's tree. Although she'd been only eighteen months old the year before, she insisted that she remembered the ornament that they'd brought her, and when she picked it out of the box of decorations, Veronica and Logan had had to admit that it appeared that she was right.

"We did," Alicia answered, stooping to pick Morgan up. She gave the little girl a smacking kiss on the cheek which was returned eagerly. Alicia turned toward Keith and Morgan climbed out of her arms and into his. Giggling kisses followed, until Morgan's limited patience ran out.

"Pleeeease, can I have my orn'ment?" She cupped Keith's cheeks with her tiny hands, looking at him with the pleading eyes she was so good at. "I need it."

"Well that sounds serious," Keith said. "If you need it, I guess we better give it to you." He turned toward Alicia, who pulled out first one box and then another from the Christmas-themed shopping bag she was carrying.

"I get two?" Morgan said in an awed voice.

"No, honey, one's for Spencer," Alicia said. Morgan gave her a deep frown. "Don't you think he wants one too?"

Morgan shook her head. "He don't care. He too little."

"That might be true right now but in a couple of years, he'll be glad he has ornaments to put on the tree, just like you do. But I bet he wouldn't mind if you opened his this year, since he is so little." Alicia looked at her seriously. "Could you help him out with that?"

Morgan nodded and Alicia moved over to the couch and sat down beside Veronica. "Is that okay with your mommy too?"

"It is," Veronica affirmed. Even with only a little more than two years between the kids, Morgan had gotten used to having everyone's attention solely on her, and making her understand what it meant to not be an only child anymore was taking everyone's involvement.

Keith followed Alicia, sitting on her opposite side from Veronica. "So whose are you going to open first?"

"Pick mine, pick mine." All heads in the room swiveled toward the squeaky voice, coming from where Dick was holding the baby upright and dancing him from side to side, with one tiny arm raised. Everyone burst into laughter.

"Okay, Spencer first," Morgan agreed and Alicia handed her one of the packages. The paper was shredded in seconds and Keith helped break the seal on the box.

"Why don't you let your mama take it out," Alicia suggested and Morgan pursed her lips, looking at Veronica speculatively, but she took the box from Keith and handed it across Alicia to Veronica.

"I'm onto you." Veronica glared at Alicia. "I know how you operate. You think you're going to make me cry. That's why you want me to take this out of the box." She looked over at Logan, still on the floor next to the tree. "Are you coming to me, or am I coming to you? You're not getting out of this potential crying thing."

He crooked his finger at her and she pushed off the couch, taking the box with her. Logan caught her around the waist as she approached and pulled her into his lap. "Any bets on who cries and who doesn't?" he asked, leaning down and smiling at her.

"Money on Ronnie!" Dick's shout startled the baby in his lap. Mac elbowed him in the side and Dick jiggled his leg to sooth Spencer. "Hey, sorry, little buddy." In a lower voice, he added, "Logan's a sap. She can totally outlast him."

"I dunno," Cole said, looking speculatively at the couple on the floor. "He seems pretty confident about this."

Veronica smiled back at Logan. "Yes, he does. That makes me suspicious."

"What doesn't?" Keith chimed in and the room filled with laughter again.

"All right, let's see." Veronica opened the box and reached in, lifting a glass ball out by a blue ribbon. "Oh my God," she said in an awed voice, her eyes filling with tears. The ball had tiny footprints on it with Spencer written in white across them. Inside the ball was the little hat the hospital had put on him after he was born along with his tiny wristlet. As she turned the ornament, she noticed that his birth date was written on the back of the ball. She looked at Logan who was still smiling at her. "Do you see this?"

"I do. Pretty special, huh?"

"You seen it before," she accused. His lack of teary response was very unusual.

"Yeah, I have. Somebody had to sneak the little hat and the bracelet out of the house. Can you see Alicia breaking in here herself? Maybe dressed all in black like a ninja?"

"Or Catwoman," Keith interjected, eyebrows waggling. "I can." The rest of the room groaned in unison.

"And someone had to hold his little blue feet in place while Alicia pressed the ball against them." Logan pressed a kiss against her temple. "You like it?"

"Yes." She kissed his cheek. "Thank you for helping her do this." She stood up and moved back to the couch to hug her stepmother. "Thank you so much. This is the sweetest thing ever."

"You are so welcome," Alicia said as she stood to hug Veronica back. "I'm glad you like it."

Their embrace was interrupted by Morgan wrapping her arms around both of their legs. "Me now."

"Yes, your turn now." Alicia released Veronica and scooped Morgan up into a hug. "And you should go sit with your daddy to open yours."

Veronica looked at Alicia, then over to Logan, who was watching Alicia with narrowed eyes. "Why should she sit with me?"

Alicia shrugged, a smug smile on her face. "Just seemed like a good idea." She set Morgan on her feet and moved back to the couch.

"Now I'm the suspicious one," Logan said, then looked at Morgan. "Get your box, sweetness, and come sit with Daddy." Keith handed her the remaining box and she skipped over to drop into Logan's lap. Veronica sat next to Alicia again, feeling her heart swell in her chest as it always did at the sight of Logan cuddling their tiny daughter. "Okay, pumpkin, let's see what Gramma Alicia did for your ornament." Morgan eagerly tore through the wrapping again, then held the box up to Logan. He popped the sealed lid for her, then held it steady as she peeked inside.

"Let's see what you got, Morgan," Veronica called. The little girl looked up at her with an excited smile, then reached into the box, pulling out a lacy blush-colored ribbon holding a clear ball filled with something white. Both Logan and Morgan peered closely at the ball, eyebrows furrowed in matching confusion, then Logan gave Alicia a playfully exasperated glare and Morgan squealed in delight.

"Wishes!"

She jumped from Logan's lap and ran over to throw herself at Veronica. "Look, Mama! It my wishes!"

Veronica lifted the ball so she could get a better look, then laughed. It was filled with fluffy dandelion seeds and had Morgan's name and 2021 written across the ball in a pale pink that matched the ribbon. Dick started to laugh from across the room.

"I don't get it," Cole said. "I know about blowing the seeds around and getting wishes for the ones you catch but what's with the drama queen over there?" He jerked his head at Logan, who was still sitting on the floor, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. Mac beat the rest of the group to the explanation.

"Alicia taught the wishes trick to Morgan last Spring. It was while you were at school so you missed the whole incident. It was no big deal, just a fun little thing for Morgan and Gramma Alicia, until Logan's perfect lawn started sprouting dandelions."

"You're blaming Morgan for that?" Cole asked Logan.

"She was bringing her wishes home from Gramma and Grampa's in her pockets—" Logan's tone was defensive "—and throwing them around to try to catch them again."

"She doesn't do it any more," Alicia added. "She only blows them around in my yard."

"Where I have to deal with them," Keith said drolly. "But don't worry, I made sure the ornament was sealed. Nothing's getting out."

"I think it's a wonderful memory for this year's ornament," Veronica said. "And Morgan agrees. Right, sweetie, this is a great ornament, isn't it?"

"Pretty wishes," she agreed in a decisive voice and Veronica nodded.

"See? Now let's get these on the tree."

* * *

"Daddy! Look what we made! Me 'n Gramma Leen."

Lianne looked up from the dough she was rolling out and smiled at Logan and Hunter.

"You guys are just in time. Morgan's decorating the sugar cookies and they're ready for taste-testing." She put an arm around Hunter who'd come up to hug her. "Did you have fun with Logan, sweetheart?"

Logan pulled up a chair beside Morgan who was kneeling on a chair, tossing candy glitter up into the air, and watching it flutter down onto a tray of very erratically frosted sugar cookies.

"Interesting technique you've got there, Morg," he said, scooting in to kiss the top of her head.

"Pretty, Daddy!" She dusted her hands off over the cookies, then clambered onto him. He only cringed for a moment at the green frosting handprint he was sure was now on his shoulder before nodding and snuggling her against him.

"They are very pretty. You may have a future in the culinary arts." He kissed her head again. "It looks like you've been the sole decorator and Gramma LiANNE—" he emphasized the part of Lianne's name that Morgan was still struggling with "—is obviously the baker here, so where's your mother?"

"Spencer eatin'." Morgan looked at her hands, then licked her palm. "Mmm, sweet." She held her hand up to Logan, who struggled not to shudder. "Wanna taste?"

"I'm good, thanks." He looked at the cookies. "So, green frosting, so trees, right?"

Lianne laughed and nodded. "She and Veronica decorated snowmen earlier." She gestured to the counter where Logan could see other cookies. "There was more direct supervision involved there so they'd look like actual snowmen. For the trees, we figured, why not let her go a little avante garde with the trimmings?"

"Makes sense." He looked down at his daughter who was now sucking frosting out from under her fingernails. "Although...was there a lot of hand licking during the artistic process?"

"No. Veronica told her that she couldn't do that while she was working." Lianne raised her eyebrows as she watched Morgan. "I think maybe she's on a break."

"Uh huh." Morgan's voice was barely understandable around her fingers. "On break."

Hunter started to laugh. "That is so gross."

"What's gross?" Veronica came into the kitchen with Spencer against her shoulder as she rubbed his back. She moved over to Logan and leaned down to kiss him. "Hi there. Did you guys have fun Christmas shopping?" She looked at Morgan, still sucking her fingers, then back at Hunter. "Okay. I think I may have found what's gross."

Hunter nodded and she snickered. "You know, kid, this is really nothing. She only licked one cookie, and I let her go ahead and eat it so you won't end up with it. And if you really want to see gross, you should have been here this morning when this one woke up." She patted Spencer. "A little spit in your frosting is nothing compared to the present he was packing this morning."

"Ugh, that is..." Hunter made a gagging noise. "Really super gross."

"Good thing Dick kept the other house for when company comes." Logan reached for one of the impressionist tree cookies. "Otherwise you'd be here and getting diaper duty, dude."

"No way." Hunter's disgusted face made his mother and sister burst into laughter. In the uproar, Logan studied the cookie in his hand, evaluating whether it was safe enough for human consumption. Morgan watched him solemnly, ignoring the laughter, and he decided to take the chance. He took a big bite of the cookie, and was rewarded with excited clapping, his daughter's bright smile, and a cookie that tasted better than it looked.

"Yummy, Daddy?"

"Best cookie ever."

* * *

Logan stepped out onto the patio and found that Veronica had turned on all the heating towers and it was as warm outside as in. She was tucked into one of the papasan chairs and he made his way over and curled into the chair around her. "I think she's finally asleep."

"I thought that half an hour ago." She rolled to face him and leaned her head and hand against his chest. "It's been an exciting day. We shouldn't be all that surprised that she's having a hard time going down for the night."

"Yeah, and our threats that Santa might not come are toothless for probably another eleven months." Logan kissed her forehead. "I guess we're just gonna have to go back to plain old teaching her right from wrong."

"Oh man, that sucks." They both chuckled. "It's a lot easier when you can trot out the big guy in red to make her behave."

"She is her mother's daughter."

Veronica gaped up at him. "Are you serious? You're blaming me? I was an angel."

"Uh huh. Can I just say, I totally understand now why you tried to keep me away from your dad for so long. You thought if we didn't talk, you could spin whatever tales you wanted. Well, I've got news for you, Sugarpuss, we do talk. And I know that you were no angel."

'My father adores me." She pouted up at him. "He wouldn't talk trash about me like you're implying."

"He does adore you. Doesn't mean he doesn't talk trash." Logan scrunched down to kiss away the pout but when she didn't kiss back, he gave the protruding lower lip a nip instead.

"Hey!" He could see her struggling not to smile. "I don't see why you don't get any blame for anything. I didn't meet you 'til we were twelve but I heard plenty, Buster. You were way more rambunctious than I ever thought of being. Ergo, Morgan the whirling dervish is at least 75% your fault."

"Ergo, Veronica? You're trotting out the law school vocabulary to try to win this argument?" She scoffed, but finally smiled. "I will concede that there is plenty of reckless childhood behavior in my past, probably more than in yours. But when I look at her, I think of you, and what you were probably like at that age, and even when I don't think I could ever love her, or you, any more, I find that I do."

The pout came back, but it was the one that meant 'Awww', with her eyes soft and just a tiny bit watery. She stretched up to him and he met her halfway with a long, heartfelt kiss.

When they finally broke apart, she was higher up in the chair with her head now resting against his shoulder. Her hand was still on his chest but she'd curled her legs up and then stretched them over his lap. "So you know, don't you, that once Spencer's running around, I'm going to see you."

"Maybe. Maybe he'll be quiet and studious, which I never was."

"Even if he turns out like that, he'll still be chasing after her as soon as he can figure out how to ambulate. He may just be dragging himself along the ground but he'll want to go where she's going. Even now, he watches her careen around the room and his legs are already moving like he wants to go too." They both laughed and Logan nodded.

"You're probably right," he agreed. "If I'd known you when we were little, I would have been chasing you too."

"I think it's a little different with Morgan and Spencer..."

"I don't mean it like that. Not chasing you, just chasing _after_ you, ready to do whatever you wanted me to do. You Mars women, you're forces of nature. Us mere mortals can only do your bidding."

Veronica rolled her eyes. "Do you think Spencer's going to get your overly dramatic streak too?"

"That is not the direction I expected you to go with that. I was thinking you'd latch onto the 'doing your bidding' part."

A laugh burst from her. "Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, ma'am, I certainly would."

"Okay, then." She rolled away from him. "My bidding is that you go put in a load of laundry and bring me some of that chocolate pie Alicia made."

He blinked at her. "Again, not really what I was expecting from you."

She smiled brightly. "You were expecting me to ask you to carry me upstairs to our bed, and then do those magical things you do to me until I'm blissful and boneless and gasping for air?"

Logan cocked his head to the side, contemplating. "Well, I really wouldn't have expected those words, but overall, yeah, that was more along the lines of what I was hoping for."

"I'm a working mom with a nursing infant and a very active toddler, who just put on an all-day Christmas event with my divorced parents, new step-mom, half brother, step-brothers and their girlfriends, your semi-brother and his live-in girlfriend and grown son, not to mention the aforementioned nursing infant and active toddler, plus you too, buster. Is it unreasonable for me to ask you to do some laundry?"

Logan shook his head at her. "No, of course not. I do the laundry all the time. I've got no problem putting a load in right now. And then I'll bring you some pie." He started to push out of the chair but she grabbed his arm and pulled herself up with him.

"Veronica, I'll bring you the pie out here. Just stay put."

"Naah, let's turn off the heaters, get the pie, and go upstairs. The laundry can wait. I've given it a little thought and that blissful, boneless, gasping thing sounds pretty appealing. Add some chocolate pie to the mix and it sounds like a pretty cool way to end Christmas."

* * *

 _Thanks to all who've stuck with me and this story. I hope you've enjoyed. Thanks for all of the comments and support; they mean a lot._

 _Extra special thanks to KMD0107, who cooperates with my schedule as often as humanly possible and is always full of helpful suggestions. She's made a huge difference since I've been posting fan fiction. Thanks also to Kayte76 who is all-around awesome and who acts as my little kid-speak expert._

 _I will post something next week. Not sure if it will be chapter 2 of At the Overlook or something else. That'll be 100 weeks in a row of posting on Saturdays. After that, I think there will be a hiatus while I work on completing At the Overlook and maybe some other stuff. We'll see what happens._


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